


Over And Over

by Pandawasbored



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2018-07-24 03:11:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 24,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7491099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandawasbored/pseuds/Pandawasbored
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You live in a small town surrounded by woods.<br/>The old librarian tells you stories about a monster who lives deep within the forest and steals the occasional organ. What happens when said monster gives you a visit and doesn't leave you alone? Your life will surely be turned upside down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oh man am I bad at summaries. But anyways this is just a little thing I'll update every once in a while if I feel like it. Have fun reading!

It was the first day of your new job as a librarian at your local, and only, library. The city you lived in was small. It was surrounded by woods and anyone who drove down main street immediately kept on driving. Only a few cars a year actually stopped to either rest for a day or so, or stay. No one really left. 

You moved to the town a few years ago, during your freshman year of college. Living in the big city was tiring to you. So you saved up, packed, and left your parent's house with the aid of some borrowed money and a small trailer.

The house you lived in was very charming. It was a cozy old log cabin in the outskirts of town, mostly away from other houses and apartments. You had decorated it more and more over the years with items you picked up from the occasional garage sale. The only downside was that you lived alone. You didn't make friends when you moved. 

Not many seemed to be very welcoming when you arrived. There was only one person who seemed to care about you, and that was the old librarian. She was an endearing woman who liked to tell stories and read. She spent her days in the library, hoping for someone to come in and check out something. Of course, not many people did, except you. Ever since you came to the small town, you spent most of your time at the library. There was nothing much to do anyways. She became a grandmother-figure of sorts to you. There would be days that all you both would do was share stories with each other and laugh. Her favorites to tell were about her life or the area and surrounding woods. 

One intrigued you the most. It was of a monster who lived in the deepest parts of the forest. It came out at night and killed animals with surgeon-like precision and ate their organs. More specifically, their kidneys. The librarian said that it would occasionally steal a person's kidney here and there. That woman had quite the imagination. 

When you finished your sophomore year on an online college, you decided that you needed a job to keep yourself afloat. You asked the librarian what places were hiring and she decided to take you under her wing. Paying you minimum wage to reorganize the books and help her with mailing overdue book bills. Everything was going perfect.

That was until the librarian, the only woman who looked after you, died overnight suddenly. It happened at the middle of your senior year. The funeral was short and small. She had no relatives or children to attend, so only you and a few others went to mourn. No one was willing to run the library for long after that. Many people tried to keep it in order for a while until you finished school and graduated. You volunteered to be the new librarian, knowing there wasn't many other jobs you could snag.

So now, here you are. Sitting behind the dusty front desk, nose in a book, waiting for the chime of the door to open.

Hours upon hours passed. Before you knew it, it was 8 in the evening, closing time. You sighed to yourself as you fixed your pencil skirt and blouse, stood up, book under arm, and strode over to the lights. You turned off every single one and opened the door, the bell ringing softly. You locked it behind you. The cool night air brushed against your face softly before you took in a breath and exhaled. You started walking down the sidewalk, passing small shops and the occasional restaurant to your home. Walking around at night in the city proved to be menacing, but in this town, it was peaceful and calming. With the moon shining through the tall trees of the forest and hitting the buildings and road gave everything a soft glow. 

The heels you wore hit the ground, making small quick clicks. Your home was finally in sight. You went up the walkway to the cabin and unlocked the door. The book you had tucked in your arm was placed on the small coffee table in front of the couch. You flipped on the lights and kicked off your shoes. You immediately paced to your fridge, taking out a piece of leftover apple pie you made a few nights prior. You nibbled on the pastry as you sat down on your small couch and turned on the television. There was only three channels. The news, a kid's show, and the shopping network. You flipped through the three channels a bit before settling on the news. You didn't listen to it much until you finished your pie. Only then did a story catch your attention. 

The news anchor sat at his desk, looking seriously into the camera,  
"Last night three sheep and two cows were found disembowled on Ridgewell farm, twelve miles away from town. Officials say it was not the work of any kind of predatory animal such as mountain lions or cyotes. As of now, no witnesses have come through to share their stories so if you have any information, please call the local sheriff's department."

You set down your plate in confusion. The story sounded familiar but you couldn't put a finger on it. Good thing you weren't that far away from town.  
You yawned and went to the bathroom, took a short shower, and got ready for bed. You made sure to set your alarm for 5am and eventually fell asleep in your warm bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (F/d) = Favorite drink  
> (F/d/i) = Favorite dinner item

The rest of the week was the same. You woke up, went to work, and went home. No one stopped by at all.

"Now I know why no one was willing to keep this damn place open for long..."

You sighed. Good thing it was Friday. On weekends the library opened later and closed earlier. At least that was going for you. The watch you wore on your wrist showed that it was closing time already.   
But tonight felt different. The atmosphere was almost eerie, which was strange seeing how most nights felt peaceful to you.   
Was it the heavy fog that shrouded the streets? No, that wasn't quite it. It felt as of you were being watched. You gazed out of the large window in the front of the library, but no one was outside.   
The majority of the townsfolk went inside their homes by this time anyway. Why they did that, you hadn't the faintest idea.

Nevertheless, you shook off the feeling and locked up, walking towards home like you usually do. But today you decided to stop at a small diner that was fairly close to the library to eat some actual dinner.   
It was Friday after all. Like most establishments in your town, it closed at around nine or ten at night, so there wasn't many people there. A few older folks scattered throughout the restaurant here and there, sipping coffee and reading the newspaper.   
You picked a small booth in the corner and sat down. A woman older than you, she couldn't have been older than forty, brought over a menu.

"What do you want to drink, honey?" 

She asked in a gravelly voice. Must be a smoker.

"I'll just have a (f/d) please,"

You responded. She nodded and started towards the kitchen. As you were looking over the menu, someone else walked in. You could hear the door chime.   
Out of curiosity you shifted your gaze to the entrance. You couldn't place any particular gender to this person as their face was covered with a hood. They wore a black hoodie and black skinny jeans with black boots of some kind. The dim lighting of the diner didn't help much with your goal of looking at this person's face.   
It sat down at a booth closer to the entrance of the diner, around nine feet away from you. The person looked male with it's broad shoulders and smaller hips, so you debated and decided it was male. The strange man wasn't built heavily, or really scrawny either. He looked fit. Not too big, not too small. He was around 5'10, maybe 6'. You didn't know height for shit anyways. The waitress that served you previously went to the stranger's table and gave him a menu, asked for his drink etc etc. She went back into the kitchen.   
You couldn't hear his voice to prove your conclusion, sadly. The waitress returned to your table after setting down the stranger's drink, a water I might add, and set down your (f/d) near your hand that was tightly gripping your menu. 

"Do ya know what you want?" 

She asked as she pulled out a pen and a small notepad.  
You were snapped out of your thoughts and nodded quickly,

"I'll just have the (f/d/i), please."

You closed your menu, handed it to the waitress's awaiting grasp, and started to sip on your drink. You pulled your eyes away from the stranger and pulled out your phone. Eight thirty. You huffed. Why couldn't the library just close earlier? You shut off your phone and retured to gaze secretly at the stranger. He held the menu in front of his face.   
This man, or what you assumed was a man, intrigued you slightly. He was mysterious. You hadn't seen him around town before either. Must be here for a quick stop before leaving to go to somewhere else like most visitors.   
Around 15 minutes passed and the waitress returned with your food. Then she went to take the stranger's order. She went to the kitchen again.  
You focused on your food and ate. The waitress came out of the kitchen once more and gave the stranger his food, a burger and fries. You mentally shrugged at the normalcy.   
You finished your food and waited for your bill, grabbing the newspaper at the table and started reading. There was an article about the missing animal organs. You heard about that earlier in the week. You, being interested in said article, started reading.   
Finally your bill came, you paid, and started getting your things together. 

Only then did you notice that the stranger was looking at you too.

You immediately got flustered seeing that his gaze was on you, and quickly left the diner, walking home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's just assume Ej has a human form because I'm too lazy to think of anything else ok ok. Plus if you haven't read "To Kill a Mockingbird" you probably won't get some stuff in this chapter.
> 
> (L/n) - Last name

Saturday morning. You heaved yourself out of your warm bed, got ready like any other day, and left your cozy abode to go to work.

It was more on the chilly side today, the wind teased the leaves on the trees. The sky was a light grey, you noted this and mentally kicked yourself for not bringing an umbrella. Your flats padded the cement quickly in fear of the possible oncoming downpour.

You reached the library in a timely manner and unlocked the door. You set up your desk and turned on some of the lights and lamps that decorated some of the tables. You logged into all of the computers, wiped dust off of a few shelves, and then settled behind your desk, starting your day of tedious waiting. 

It was around two in the afternoon when you got your first costumer. It was the same mysterious man, you presumed, from the diner last night. It was definitely a surprise. Curiosity creeped back into your brain again. He still had his hood over his face, but he noticed your stare and slowly pulled it off.

You definitely knew this person in black was a male now. He had fair skin, dark brown hair, and stunning blue eyes. He looked on the younger side as he had no facial hair of any sort. Might have been your age? Might have not. He shot you a small smirk and went off to an aisle. You waited patiently until he came back a few minutes later. He approached your desk hesitantly with a thick book in his arms. He gently sat it on the counter.  
It was "To Kill a Mockingbird" (I'll italicize that later I'm on mobile rn). You definitely didn't expect him to pick that. You finally decided to speak to the intriguing stranger. 

"To Kill a Mockingbird huh? I like that book. Have you read it before...?"

You stamped the due date on the card and slipped it into the book. 5 days from now.  
He spoke up softly, as if he hasn't talked in years.

"It's one of my favorites. I feel like I can relate to it well."

His voice was smooth, not too deep, not too high. His eyes wandered off his own feet and met your eyes as you slid the book to him.

"Relate to it? Really? How so?"

You tried to question him in hopes of learning more about this mysterious man. You secretly feared that you were bombarding him with too many questions and he would think you were off or something. 

"Well... Boo Radley hid from everyone because people thought he was a monster. But really there was good in him. People just needed to notice-"

He was cut off by an older man, he must've been in his sixties, running down the wet, almost flooded, road screaming. Both of you turned to watch as the man ran into the diner across the street. You were about to shake it off until he ran into the library, pushing open the door quickly. He was out of breath.  
His attire told you that he was probably a farmer who owned a small farm at the edge of town. 

"M-miss... you're the librarian, right...?

He asked, nearly shoving the man you were talking to away from your desk. The younger man looked a bit hurt but nevertheless pulled up his hood, tucked the book into his hoodie, and exited without a word. You mentally kicked yourself for not saying goodbye.

"Yes sir I am the librarian. How may I help you?"

You nearly sighed.  
He huffed as he held up a blurry photo, probably taken by a very old camera telling by how grainy it was. It looked as if someone's leg was barely in shot on the right corner, as if that someone was running away. That was it. Just a blurry leg.

"I saw somethin' on my property. I was afraid it was a wolf or mountain lion who was eatin' my animals. But it was a person! A person! I need to tell everyone I can and show them this so they know that a dangerous killer is out there. Can I use one of them computers?"

You were shocked. A person killing and eating the animals? That was preposterous. To you it wasn't much of a big deal because at least this person wasn't eating people. But you shrugged nonchalantly and nodded over to the computer corner,

"Yes you can use a computer. Just please dry off first before you ruin any of the keys."

He nodded quickly and shook the water off his baseball cap, walking over tp the corner.  
You thought maybe some research about this so called "killer" would ease your mind. You hoped to find out that it was just a hoax. So you pulled out your phone and started up google.

A few hours later the farmer left, handing you a copy of his photo, telling you to "watch out for the killer when you go home tonight miss". You sighed. There was no need to worry if humans weren't being killed. I mean you loved animals but if this killer targeted them, people don't have to be on such high alert.  
It was five, and since you closed early on Saturday's, it was closing time. For once you actually got to eat dinner at a normal hour.

You decided to go to the diner again for your meal. It was rush hour as most families packed into the tables and booths. The adults too tired after work to cook for themselves or their families, or it was a nice treat to start off the weekend. You were ushered into another corner booth, mostly because there was only room for a person or two, and was given a menu. The waiter, who was a young man, probably not a day over twenty, took your drink order and left. You already knew what you wanted to order so you focused on people watching.  
It was nice to observe all the people of the town, mostly because you woke up early and got home late you never really saw many people. So you watched until the waiter came back with your drink. He asked for your order, took it, and quickly left again.

You were a bit bored now. Watching other people eat was probably creepy so you stopped. Your phone was nearly dead so you didn't want to use that as much, not like you had anyone to text anyways.  
You gazed out of the window into the pouring rain. Rain was nice to watch.  
Sooner than later you got your food, paid, then left to make you trek home in the downpour.  
Your cable knit sweater did little to block out the cold and wet, leaving you chilled to the bone when you reached home. Your blouse and skirt clung to your body.  
You huffed and decided to take a warm shower.

After your shower, you changed into some shorts and a warm sweater. You had little to do, no chores that needed to be done, the tv wouldn't work because of the rain, and you didn't need to eat.  
You decided that watching the rain would be a good idea. You opened the shutters in your room and sat on the windowsill. Your room was the closest to the treeline of the forest so it was nice to watch the rain pelt the big pines. You opted to take a short nap, as you were very comfortable.

You woke shorly after to a strange tapping on the window. It wasn't rain. It was too heavy to be rain. Your eyes searched for what could've made the noise, which was a stupid idea seeing as how your vision wasn't focused after that nap.  
You took a minute to rub your eyes and blink a few times. You couldn't believe what you saw standing at the treeline, nearly twenty feet from your window.

It was the creature the librarian always told you about in her stories.

And it was watching you.


	4. Author's Note

Hoo boi have I been gone for a while! I'm so sorry to keep you guys waiting for so long on this story :^(  
After writing this I kinda stopped with my interests in creepypastas for a while BUT RECENTLY I've gotten back into it and I'll try to update this story a bit more.  
Because let's be honest, EJ needs more luv. 

AND THANK YOU GUYS FOR READING OH MY LORD I DON'T DESERVE YALL!! ♡

(Also I'm not sure if I'll keep the title of this the same just because I completely have no idea where I was going with this and the title had something to do with it so idk)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been gone for so long so enjoy this long (ish) chapter

You were completely shocked. There was no way in hell that stupid old story was real.  
But your eyes didn't deceive you. That thing was there, clear as day. It's midnight blue mask contrasted against the bleak darkness of the dense forest behind it.  
It was as if it wanted to be seen.   
Your breathing hitched as your throat closed, as if you were about to sob, but nothing came out. You so desperately wanted to let out a strangled cry, anything to make sure you weren't dreaming or seeing things. Your fingers itched to clasp at your throat, your own body seemed to quite literally cut off your oxygen in fear.  
Yet you couldn't move. Muscles like lead, you could barely heave your chest up and down to attempt to breathe again.  
It could clearly see your raw, unadulterated fear plastered on your face. It slowly, almost menacingly, tilted it's head like a confused animal, in hopes of making you scream or snap out of your trance to react. It needed a reaction out of you.  
Your eyes widened in horror as it tilted it's head. You could almost hear the bones of its neck cracking with each slow movement. 

The moon had shone out of the fog in the air as the rain started to clear. You were frozen there for at least a few minutes, but it felt like hours. Days even.  
A flash caught your eye and you finally regained your ability to breathe again. It was as if it snapped you back to reality harshly. The light of the moon reflected off of something in its pocket, it must have been made of metal.  
Your chest felt tight as you recognized what the shiny item was.

A scalpel.  
A bigger one at that. It wasn't polished, no no no, it was disgustingly dirty. You could faintly make out rust on the blade, but couldn't tell what else was on it. It noticed your realization and slowly, as if it's every move hurt it's joints and muscles, pulled the surgical tool out of the pocket. It slowly rubbed it's thumb over the handle. 

You had seen enough.   
As if some sort of primal instinct took over, you let out a strangled cry as you wildly reached up to close the curtains. Your feet seemed to have a mind of their own as you  stumbled over to grab your phone on the coffee table. With shaky fingers and trembling breaths, you started to dial the authorities. But a loud crash brought halted your movements. At this point, you could have probably guessed what had happened. 

Your bedroom window had shattered.   
The instincts that told you to run away had faltered and led you to stand up on shaky legs from your place on the floor. Fingers ready to dial just in case, you slowly made your way down the hall to your room.  
Every item on the walls seemed to taunt you. Maybe it was just your anxiety and fear, but the clock mounted at the end of your hallway seemed to tick louder than normal, and every portrait seemed to loom over and stare at you.  
You gathered up the rest of your courage to hesitantly open your door. Instantly you were met with a wall of ice cold wind and mist. Your window had broken, but it was not the culprit. A branch from one of the nearby trees had blown off from the wind and fell against your fragile window. Glass littered the carpet and most of your possessions were damp with condensation. At least that thing hadn't decided to crawl in and hurt you.  
You silently prayed to whatever was up there and called the authorities. You wondered what you would do in the meantime waiting for them.

The authorities arrived about an hour later. You didn't bring up the monster, deciding that it was for the best and that they would never believe you anyway. But by the time they removed the heavy branch and started to phone the local hardware store for a replacement window, you sat and pondered if you were safe to leave your home. What if it caught you on your walk to the library? What if it brakes in when you're not around to wait until you arrived back? The possibilities were absolutely endless. The old librarian would tell you that the monster never killed people, so it gave you a sense of hope that you'd probably live if you encountered it, but at the same time, who knew? You assumed that this thing was the one killing off the local livestock. It seemed as if it was practicing on the animals before attacking any human. It made your stomach churn.  
Whatever it was, it sure was intelligent. 

It took all night for your window to be replaced and for you to clean up the damage it had caused. The authorities have you a stern talking to about how you should've trimmed the branches before the colder seasons in attempts to save your house from potential damage.  
You took note of it. You didn't plan on doing it anyways. You were more worried about whatever had visited you hours ago.  
The sun was coming up over the horizon by the time you had even thought about what to do next. It was as if your body was still in shock.  
But eventually, you concluded that you couldn't sleep and that it would be a waste of a work day to not come in, seeing as how you had nothing better to do at home.  
A part of your mind worried about leaving, but it was daytime, it's not like it could visit you then without being seen easily.  
So you got dressed, pulled up your hair, and dragged yourself to work. Pure anxiety and almost fear kept you awake.

 

The day went on as usual, but as you lazily skimmed through a Stephen King novel, the bell of the door rang. It was unusual to get customers at all, let alone the same one twice.  
The guy with the brown hair and blue eyes who came in the other day, was back. There was no way he finished that book in one night. 

"I finished this book. I'm here to return it," his voice was very smooth, and you could only make the comparison to that of melted chocolate drizzling on a fresh strawberry.  
You snapped out of your trance when he slowly waved a hand in front of you.  
"Hello...?"  
You shook your head and concluded that he probably didn't sleep at all to finish the book.  
"I'm sorry. I kinda blanked out..." You muttered as you stood up from your seat to grab his book and check it in.  
He stuffed his hands into his jean pockets. He was wearing a different outfit today. Some dark jeans, a black turtleneck, and an army green coat. He had taste, you could give him that.  
"It's fine. I heard about your little window fiasco. It was on the local news. Word does travel fast here," he said nonchalantly, "I'm glad you didn't get hurt." He leaned back a little to glance at shelves, probably deciding what book to check out next.  
Your fingers clutched the book tighter. (H/c) strands tickling your cheeks, you smiled a little,   
"Thank you. I appreciate the worry."  
He blew a strand of his brown hair out of his eyes and a small smirked formed. "No problem."

The days that went by were pretty uneventful. Except now you had a regular. A handsome one at that. He would always read his book overnight, and come back the next day to check out a new one. Didn't matter how long it was or how complex. He always finished it.  
At first you assumed it was because he wanted to see you and didn't even read the books at all. But eventually noticed that if you would run into him after you closed up shop, (it's a small town it's bound to happen ok ok) he would have his nose in the book. It didn't matter where. Restaurant, grocery store, etc. It was charming in a way that he was so interested in reading.  
Eventually curiosity got the best of you and one day after checking a medical textbook out to him, you followed to his usual spot in the library, where he would read for a few hours before leaving. As he was looking at the diagrams you sat yourself down across from him.  
His eyes lazily rolled up to look at you over the cover of the book, "You want something, sweetheart?"  
You blushed at the nickname.  
"I'm just curious. You've been a regular for quite some time and I don't even know your name or why you're even in this dinky town."  
He marked his place and closed the book, his ice blue eyes staring into your (e/c) ones the whole time,

 

"My name is Jack."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure yall will love this chapter

You liked that name. The way it rolled off his tongue was literally music to your ears (and soothed your goddamn soul amen). BUT it suited him well.   
You realized that he never answered why he was there in the small town in the first place. A guy like him seemed to belong in a bigger city, with more opportunity, going to a well known university and being fawned over by all the ladies stupid enough to be rejected.   
He gave off a very nonchalant attitude but could turn on a dime to slightly flirty and mischievous, while keeping an attractive, husky tone.  
He was honestly the most perfect guy you had met. But in a sense he seemed off. Like he was too perfect. Almost as if he played off of being so perfect to hide something he didn't want people digging their nose in. You just assumed that everyone had secrets.

"...So why did you come here? It's so boring. Foggy and grey skies nearly every day, weird livestock murders, creepy and cult-like stereotypical small town feel,"   
You twiddled your thumbs, hoping you hadn't gone too far with the questions.   
He chuckled under his breath,

"Well if you think of this town that way, I'm more interested in learning why you're here."  
You explained your situation. But there was a look in his eyes you couldn't quite place. It was as if he had already heard this story. That he knew it by heart and this was just another rerun. But you let it go as paranoia and kept going. He was about to answer to your story but your phone alarm cut him off. It was time to close up shop. He noticed and took the hint to stand and collect himself.   
Dammit, you were so close...  
You had only noticed now that he was at least a foot taller than you, as you had to slightly look up to not be eye level with his chest. He gave you a small smile,  
"It was nice talking to you. I hope we can catch up tomorrow. I don't want to keep you here longer than you need to be," Jack said kindly as he nodded, walked to the doors, and left.

A sigh escaped your lips, you really didn't mind if he kept you here. At this point, going home was terrifying because of the shadow that monster seemed to cast over the town and forest. It was as if it relied on terror of the people to keep them in line, like it was almost easier to hunt them down if it wanted to.   
It sure as hell had you under it's grip.   
Yet, no one had actually been murdered yet, but animals were still dying. You thought about how sick it must've been to kill the poor cows and sheep just to cause fear. It was definitely a psychological tactic. You often pondered as to how smart this thing actually was, and always got carried away as your thoughts trailed on and on. You snapped out of the trance you were in, shook your (h/c) covered head, and closed up shop. 

As you nearly paced down the sidewalk and down the trail to your cabin, the wind picked up and chilled you to your very core. You couldn't wait to curl up with a blanket and watch some youtube or something.

Your nighttime routine went as per usual. You made dinner, watched some videos, and took a long shower. But you couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching you. After the branch incident your anxiety heightened drastically. You were more cautious of your surroundings and sometimes acted paranoid when home alone at night. You had started to place various items under all of your windows in hopes if someone tried to break in, they would make some noise or trip, possibly giving you enough time to run away. Fairy lights decorated your room, living room, and along your hallway so it would never be dark. Pepper spray and a bat was set carefully near your bed and nightstand.  
   
Honey you were prepared to throw some hands, if needed. 

The fact that the stupid monster was actually real shook you up and seeing as how you were a little, delicate librarian who lived alone in the goddamn woods, it did not help your odds of being potentially picked on.   
Regardless, you knew if this thing was a certified killer, no matter what you did or how extensively you prepared, if you had to go against it one on one, you probably were doomed. As you wrapped a towel around your body, and one around your hair, you walked down the hallway to your room to dress. You pulled on a white shirt and some underwear (too lazy to put on pants ok ladies we all do this don't lie) and threw your body towel on the ground. You flopped on your queen bed, nuzzling on top of the sheets, not quite having the energy to get up and dry your hair just yet.  
Sleep was persistent and took you into it's comfortable arms fairly quickly. As you started to fall into a deep slumber, your dining room window was quietly being pried open.

 

After a few hours, a draft of ice cold air brushed over your exposed legs and side where your shirt had twisted and lifted up from you tossing and turning (having your shirt twisted up while you sleep is actually the worst feeling don't fight me on this).   
You shivered, still very half asleep, and attempted to get under your warm covers.  
But it proved to be very difficult to pull up your covers without hitting yourself in the face with your own fist as something heavy was on the end of your bed, keeping the blankets in place. You grunted in anger and sat up hastily, thinking it was stuck on your bedframe or something.  
Eyes squinted open, reached toward where you thought it was caught, but even in the dark, with a sleepy gaze, you couldn't have missed the figure that sat atop your sheets, staring at you intently. Your hands froze as they gripped the covers harder, knuckles already white.   
Your brain immediately knew what this figure was despite the sleepiness. 

It was the monster with the blue mask.

Now you couldn't make out its eye sockets or blue mask because of the darkness, but you just had a gut feeling that's what it was. Who else would sneak into your home?  
Fear instantly kicked in, and adrenaline coursed through your veins in less than a second. As you started to take in a breath to let out the loudest, most bloodcurdled scream your little lungs could muster, it reacted in a flash and lunged at you.

A leather gloved hand covered your mouth so your screams were muffled.  
It didn't even make a sound as it tried to pin down your thrashing body. Leg on either side of your hips, weight of its feet on your shins, and one hand to cover your mouth, the other was used to hold both of your wrists above your head.   
You screamed harder than before even though you knew it was useless. It was going to cut you open right then and there, plus you had the privilege of being it's first victim in a long while.   
As the gruesome scenarios of how this thing would tear you open played over and over in your head like a broken tape, it started to look you over. Not in the most subtle way I might add. 

Slowly, as if it was a predator stalking its prey before consumption, the monster with the blue mask and empty eyesocket holes leaned down closely to your face.   
A strange, black substance leaked from the holes where its eyes should've been, onto the smooth skin of your tear-stained cheeks. It was impossibly cold, yet seemed to burn your skin like acid.  
For the first time, you heard the creature let out a low chuckle, just loud enough for your ears to pick up over your hysterical crying.

The chuckle, as you had defined it, sounded so gravelly and deep as if it hadn't used it's voice in many years. It originated from the back of his throat and sounded like it coated his larynx in a thin layer of jagged ice.   
It made your blood run cold in your veins that it was most likely going to cut apart.

It saw the horror in your eyes and moved his face back, staring in a kind of accomplishment as your face with the black tears on your cheeks almost mirrored his.   
It moved to look over the rest of your body under it. A body it had only dreamed of mutilating. Supple chest, nice hips, incredibly soft skin.   
But of all your wonderful qualities, he enjoyed your scent the most.

It was absolutely intoxicating. The stench of fear had mixed with your natural smell and it had to hold back from nearly devouring you on the spot. It had to wait. It had to.   
Just seeing it slowly take in your body was embarrassing and terrifying at the same time. You couldn't tell if it wanted to eat you up in a bad way or good way. It didn't even have eyes yet the way the creature slowly raked it's nonexistent eyes along was the epitome of seduction.   
God you just wanted to get away. Run away and never come back to this damn house and this damn town. You so desperately pleaded to whatever was up there to spare your life or that you'd die in a not so horrible way.   
What snapped you out of your prayers was a voice.  
It was the creature's voice.

"I think I've had my fun for tonight..." it almost hissed out, barely above a whisper. It appeared to be a male, but you were definitely not ready to call it a man.  
Confusion overtook all corners of your head. It didn't do anything but feel you up and look you over like a choice slab of meat. For all you knew that's what you were to this thing- him. Nothing but a meal to be consumed. 

He carefully released his hand from your mouth, but you couldn't scream. You were too confused.   
His bigger hands let go of your small wrists slowly, as testing if you would fight back.  
You didn't.  
The creature finally felt you wiggle your hips slightly in hopes to move your area away from where he was straddling you. You could almost hear the smirk under that mask.

He got off you fairly quickly, opening your window and as you sat up in shock, he looked over his shoulder and said the thing that would confuse you for the following days to come.

 

"Nice choice of lace panties by the way. And don't worry sweetheart, I'll be back."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't deserve such wonderful comments! Yall are so amazing ♡  
> Thank you guys for being so patient and supportive!

The decision of moving out of that cursed town was very strong. It lingered in your thoughts like the soft stench of death lingered in a funeral home.  
But you couldn't bring yourself to leave. It was pure, raw determination that told you to stay and "beat" him, this monster. Like you were sticking it to him by staying and acting normal. Maybe eventually if he didn't get such pleasure from scaring you, he'd move on to kill someone else more expressive.  
Oh how you hoped this idea would be true. And there was only one way to test it, to stay and pray he wouldn't stick to his word.  
So you carried on like normal. 

But you didn't feel normal.  
Far from it. The cloudy skies always became darker than before. From then on, the wind seemed to chill your bones faster. The woods around your cabin was more intimidating and deep. The once colorful decorations in your house faded to dull shades. It was as if your world was put behind a faded and greying filter.  
And the only spot of color you could remember was from his dark blue mask.

Soon the library became your only safehaven. You felt more at home there than in your own cabin. It had a welcoming aura there, a sense of protection that surrounded it. Sometimes you wondered if the old librarian had somehow blessed the place after she passed. Sometimes you wondered if her ghost was there too. After all, she was all you had for a long time. Maybe she was protecting you somehow.  
You didn't even believe in paranormal occurances or beings before that monster showed up. God, you hated that he caused such a rude awakening in your being. His very exsistence challenged everything you knew. And you despised him for it.  
But now you were open to the possibility that maybe the librarian was there with you. So you concluded that it wasn't all bad.

Your schedule changed after that night. You wouldn't sleep for more than a few hours every night. You would keep your pepper spray in your pocket at all times. You started to board up windows you decided you could live without, you only kept the washroom and your own bedroom window unboarded.  
But most importantly, you decided to extend the library hours for the soul purpose of not wanting to return home. That, and because you could spend more time with Jack.  
The brunette male had started to stay later and later after you had learned his name. You both talked about anything and everything almost all day.  
After a few weeks of talking, you had learned that his full name was Jack Nyras, that he was studying to be a surgeon, and was still currently enrolled in medical school online. After all, it "took years to master how to cut open the human body" he would often say. He had also told you he was 23 years old, the same age as you I might add, and that he loves long walks to the fridge.  
Jack had a very sarcastic sense of humor, and since he was pretty quiet most of the time, it was unexpected and he could always make you laugh.  
Just one of his many good qualities.  
He was like the shimmer of light in your, now, darkness of a life. He could make you forget about your anxieties and comfort you without even trying. At the same hour every day, the bell on the door would chime and your day was instantly better because you knew it was Jack coming back to return a book and talk.  
Your heart would flutter and no matter how cold it was outside, you felt warm around him.  
You quickly dismissed this feeling at first, justifying to yourself that you were just desperate for human contact seeing as how you had no friends and worked a job that barely saw the peak of three customers a week.  
But the more and more you two talked, laughed, and joked, you knew that the flutter wouldn't go away.

You loved him.

But you weren't really sure that he felt the same. And that was what ate at you more than what that monster could do to your insides. 

 

It was about a month after your encounter with the masked monster and you were starting to believe he wouldn't come back again. But that metaphorical filter never seemed to lift.  
Over and over, the routine was the same.  
Go to work from eight in the morning to ten at night, walk home, eat, shower, then sleep. It was like clockwork.  
Though one day, that changed.

You sat at your desk, reading (your favorite novel). The clock struck eight-thirty and the door bell chimed. Without even shifting your (e/c) eyes up, you knew who it was. You heard some shuffling before Jack slid his book onto the counter.  
You slid in a bookmark and shut your novel as you looked up and met his eyes.  
God he was just so attractive! Brown hair that would almost always be in his beautiful blue eyes, broad shoulders that you longed to lean on, signature half smile that you were convinced couldn't get any more cute unless he laughed and it turned into a full smile, pale skin that looked so soft (sorry if yall headcannon him to be another ethnicity whoops), and his cologne was phenomenal.  
You could smell it as soon as he walked in.  
You hoped that in the future you could wear one of his sweaters and be able to drown in his smell all day.

"Um... earth to (Y/n)?" He chuckled as he waved a hand in front of your face.  
"Shit! I was staring!" You thought, silently screaming inside as well. 

"I'm so sorry! I must have spaced out," you twiddled your thumbs nervously before grasping the book to scan it and set it in your "to shelf" cart. 

He smiled, "It's fine. Yknow, you could take a picture, it lasts longer." He leaned an elbow on the counter and posed jokingly. You giggled and stood, pushing your cart of books out from behind the desk, going to an aisle to begin shelving them. Jack followed, and you two talked for a bit about how aliens according to him, were in fact real.  
The silly conversation lasted about 30 minutes before the brunette had watched you finish putting away the books and sat at his usual table, you in tow.  
He hadn't found a book yet, which was odd to you, but you paid it no attention as Jack leaned forward to you across the table, elbows on the table, and said the one thing you weren't expecting.

"Did you hear about that monster?"

 

As you heard those words come out of his mouth, your stomach sank. You didn't know if you should tell him that you had encountered it twice already. Or that it had complimented your choice in underwear and promised to come back.  
Your (e/c) widened as your hands clenched into fists on your lap.

"What about it...?" You shakily asked. He sighed and ran a hand through his locks. 

"Its been around for a while killing those animals. I was just wondering if you were okay... I don't want you getting hurt. I would offer to let you stay at my place since you live in that spooky forest but it's a huge mess and I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable..." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.  
Your heart literally seemed to stop. He cared about you. He didn't want you to get hurt. HE INVITED YOU TO STAY AT HIS PLACE.  
But no... you couldn't take up that offer as much as you wanted to.  
You were afraid of it coming back after you. And if you were with Jack, it would probably try to kill him too.  
You took in a breath,

"That's such a nice offer Jack... but I can't..." You looked down to the table in shame and embarrassment for turning him down despite liking him so much.  
He stopped rubbing his neck and looked at you for a second,

"A-ah it was a stupid suggestion anyways. Sorry for acting weird." He pushed himself away from the table and stood. You quickly looked up in shock. 

"I need to go. Sorry again for making it awkward," he said hurriedly as he walked away and the chime of the door bell told you he was gone.  
He never left that early, without a book too, no less. A tight feeling engulfed your chest and it felt as if you had torn out your own heart. You wanted to curl up in a hole and die.  
Hopefully he would come back tomorrow and things would return to normal.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay let's just ignore me trying to set up an update schedule like I mentioned in the last chapter lmao.  
> Yall deserve more than one chapter a week let's be honest ♡   
> So enjoy this rather long chapter!

That day went by slowly without Jack to talk to. You sighed as the alarm on your phone went off, signalling the end of your day. You wished the library goodbye as you shut off all the lights and locked up. The night smelled musky and of pine. It would probably rain again.  
You tugged your (f/c) sweater around you more as you folded your arms, briskly walking down the cracked sidewalk and passed all the small shops down the main road. Soon you got to the dirt trail leading to your home.  
Your (flats / heels, whatever you prefer lmao) made the grainy dirt crunch as you kept your head low and avoided looking into the trees. As your cabin came into vision, your eyes caught something that was on the porch but it was already starting to drizzle and understandably dark so you couldn't really make out what it was. It couldn't have been a package, you hadn't ordered anything as of late and it looked a little too big to be a package.  
You rushed to the dry safety of the porch but your stomach churned as you got closer and closer. 

The smell was what hit you first. The stench literally attacked your poor nostrils, and made you visibly cringe.   
It was unmistakable, and your heartbeat quickened as your legs slowed down, now cautious to see what this huddled mass was.  
As soon as it was in sight, you choked and clasped a hand over your mouth to prevent a scream from escaping your throat.

It looked like a sheep, but you weren't sure because it was so mutilated. It's throat was very clearly slit, and it's eyes were dull. But that wasn't it, the animal was sliced open on the stomach, it's bloody intestines and stomach contents goreing your small porch.   
It looked as if it was stabbed all over though, it's wool coat was ripped out at parts, and a mass of flies were already buzzing over the corpse.   
The smell made you want to puke. The metallic scent of blood made the air thick and it was warmer around the body, and you knew it was freshly slaughtered.   
You couldn't hold back, and muffled sobs tore through the sound of the downpour. 

Somehow in your head you thought he wouldn't be back. Now you knew he- that thing, was after you. The very thought that the monster could be around made your knees wobble and shook you to your very core.  
You shakily tried to step over the gored animal but to no avail.   
You stood for a minute and collected your thoughts, planning on dragging the poor sheep off the porch to bury it in the forest, you heard the unmistakable sound of heavy footsteps in the dirt behind you. Time seemed to stop and your body froze, your head couldn't turn to look behind you.   
But as you stood there, the footsteps stopped. No one touched you, no noises were made.  
You slowly took out your pepper spray and slowly turned to look, but to your surprise, no one was there.   
There were no tracks as the rain had already washed them away, finding out where the person had gone would be impossible.  
But as you found the courage to fully turn around and investigate, you spotted a note on the bottom step of the small set of stairs that led to your porch. With shaky hands, you bent down and grasped the note hesitantly, as if the paper would burn you.   
You opened the note and read it through wet strands of (h/c) locks.

"Dear (Y/n),  
I thought I'd leave you a nice surprise since I haven't visited you in so long. I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me! But don't worry, I won't get mad. See you soon sweetheart.   
-EJ"

The note almost confused more than it scared you. You quickly looked up and scanned the treeline, just in case. No one. 

"This nightmare better end or I'm probably just going to end up killing myself before this EJ does..." You mumbled, only half joking.   
Begrudgingly, you had went in from your back door and changed before collecting the sheep and burying it by the treeline, because you were too scared to venture into the forest after that note. You were disgusted as you hosed down your porch, watching the blood mingle with the wet dirt.  
The image of the animal never seemed to leave your mind as you cleaned up and got ready for bed. It was now two in the morning and you couldn't sleep. There was no way you would get a wink after that whole ordeal. 

After staring at your window for an hour or so, something compelled you to open your curtains. You thought that if you could see outside, you could watch if the monster would try and break in. So that's exactly what you did. You opened your curtains and went back into bed, pulling the covers so only your head poked out. You rested on your side so your entire body faced the window. 

"Gotta be on guard," you thought, determined to try and catch this EJ.   
Just as your eyes began to droop after hours of not seeing anything, a black figure passed through the trees. Your tired eyes snapped open in fear. You weren't actually sure if it was a figure or just your paranoid mind playing tricks on you, but you weren't taking any chances.   
You stared into the trees until you definitely saw movement. What you could make out, because it was still raining softly, was a gloved hand pushing away branches until you saw it.   
The monster, now which has been dubbed EJ, was standing at the edge of the forest, staring at you. Some branches blocked him, but you could clearly see the blue mask, black hoodie, and black skinny jeans. Oddly, you weren't necessarily scared at this point. You were anxious to see what he would do, but overall, EJ wasn't physically scary. He was strange for sure, but the mask wasn't terrifying and his clothing wasn't abnormal. But this was an observation made in bed nearly 35 feet away from him, you were scared as hell when he was actually on top of you.

But as you shook your head slightly and blinked a few times, he hadn't moved from his spot. He was still just looking. So you looked back.   
It was like a weird staring contest of sorts, both of you waiting for the other to turn away and stop. But neither of you did for a good hour or so, until your eyelids became heavy and drooped multiple times, each time they slightly fell you would shake your head and open them wider, only for them to get heavy again. EJ seemed to notice this and every time you would shake to reopen your eyes he would slowly tilt his head to the side, and you could only describe the action as if he was like a confused puppy.  
Of course, you would never again want to compare him to something so cute and so innocent.   
But the staring contest went on and on until the rain came down so hard, it looked like your window had turned into a waterfall. So, you took your chance and turned over, succumbing to sleep finally.

A few hours later your alarm rang and you stretched, turning over to your window. He was gone, and that made you almost smile in triumph.  
You got ready for work, pulling on a black pencil skirt, white button up blouse, and a dark blue sweater. Since it was getting a bit chilly, you found some sheer black tights and a warm black jacket. You slipped on your favorite pair of black (heels / flats) and grabbed a cup of coffee on your way out the door.  
The porch still smelled faintly of blood from the night before, but you brushed it off with a shiver that was either from the biting cold or the image of the unfortunate sheep that popped into your mind.   
You made your way to the library, the occasional car driving past you on the street without a care in the world.

As you set down your things and started to cozy up with your favorite novel, a policeman entered. He was an older guy, grey and bushy mustache, more on the tall and muscular side, he spoke in an official tone.

"Are you the owner of this library Miss?" He asked, sipping his cup of coffee before setting it down on the counter and pulling out a notepad. You set your book aside and sat up a little bit straighter,

"Yes sir I am. How may I help you?"

"Last night, a frequent customer of yours was reported missing. I just wanted to come by and ask some questions," he nodded grimly and cleared his throat. 

The officer didn't even have to say his name, you knew Jack was gone.  
Your heart felt like lead as you swallowed down the lump in your throat, and sat up a bit straighter, and looked into the man's greying green eyes. 

"Yes, of course. What would you like to know?"  
You said bitterly, not meaning for the words to come out as harsh and cold as they did.

"Word around here is that you were the only one he really talked to. I just needed to know some of his interests and small personal details. He doesn't have any family around here and I apologize in advance for having to ask you for this information, but you're all we have," He clicked his pen, indicating he was ready to write.  
You shook your head with a strained smile, 

"It's no problem. I'm happy to help."  
He nodded sternly and wrote down details as you recalled them in your slight panic and worry. After you has finished, the older man sighed,  
"Miss, I know you're worried, but I'm positive we'll find him."  
The attempted comfort didn't ease your mind at all.

"Thank you so much. Again, I'm glad I could help," you nodded and bid the policeman goodbye before sucking in a breath you didn't know you were holding in.   
You were positive that EJ was behind this. Maybe somehow he saw you and Jack and decided that instead of a sheep, he would present you your crush's corpse instead. 

You silently prayed that wouldn't be the case.

 

You closed up shop early, and went home around. You went through your mundane nighttime tasks before heading off to bed, too emotionally exhausted to search for EJ in the decaying trees.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for such nice comments I love you all ♡ This chapter is pretty boring so I apologize but the following chapters will be way more eventful, I promise!

"I can't get too close to her..."   
the masked killer repeated to himself under a breath of cold air.  
He had been repeating this line over and over since he had left the library abruptly three days ago. He wanted to devour you.  
There was no possibility that he could've liked you at the same time.

Was there?

Jack didn't know.  
As he sat in his run down cabin deep in the woods, head in hands, he thought arduously about his predicament. The pale sunlight gleamed through the boarded up windows and warmed his skin slightly, making him wince away from the becoming light. The worn leather of the couch he had leaned into seemed to creak with every move he made. Every caw of a crow outside, the crunching of leaves under small animal feet, or the sound of rusting trees outside was driving him nearly insane. Normally, these insignificant details wouldn't bother him so much. But in his lack of decent meals, his senses heightened drastically. This bloodlust only came out at night when it was time to hunt, but recently it was out of control. The primal urges overwhelmed the eyeless man and they made him feel disgusting.   
He wanted to be normal. He wanted his human form to be his only form. He wanted to to eat normal food, get a girl who loved him inside and out, and settle down with a good job. His nineteen year old self wanted the same thing, five years pass and old habits still die hard. His desire to be human again panged in his heart whenever he saw you. No other woman he had met had done that before.   
There was something special about you and it killed him inside to not know what it was. Was it your looks? Your personality that he came to adore? Your attitude? The way you hold your ground against him? He chuckled dryly, no humor evident whatsoever, and rubbed his face once more before running a hand through his thick, chocolate brown hair.   
He noted that it was almost dusk, threw on his signature black hoodie, and grasped his mask off the small couch-side table.   
Jack held the mask so it faced up. He rubbed a bare thumb under an eyesocket, admiring the texture of the object he hated the most.   
It branded him as a monster who only killed and ate. It was a symbol of fear to others who knew of him, and he held so much rage toward those who took his eyes all those years ago. He could have enjoyed the normal life he took for granted. He often thought if whatever was up there wanted to punish him for taking that life for a grain of salt. At this point, there was no life to live anymore. It was the same routine over and over.   
Kill, eat, rest.   
That's all it was. Of course he found newer ways to kill and play around with his meals, but it never satisfied the gaping hole that seemed to blossom through his chest. 

He was alone in this cruel and gruesome place he called the world.   
But he wanted you in this world with him for some strange reason. A part of him denied these feelings for you, he was lonely and desperate. Just as you seemed to be. The imaginary relationship he built in his head would fail every time if this was true to the both of you. Besides, you would never accept the real him.   
All of the women accepted Jack Nyras. The fun, nonchalant, and charming guy who could finesse his way into any heart.   
You were just another one of the shallow people, he had told himself multiple times.   
But then again, he never thought to open up to anyone before. Mainly because he never liked his meals before, but this time we wanted to try. If he really did love you, he would try.

As Jack slid on the mask and pulled up his hood, he grabbed his satchel that had been empty of human organs for a long while, and silently creeped out of the cabin as soon as dusk was ending.  
On his way to your home on the edge of the woods, he pondered.  
He knew he couldn't try with you. It wouldn't end well with these urges and primal instincts that haunted him for years. He was afraid of hurting you. The first night he had pinned you on that bed, he realized this.   
At first, his gaze was full of hunger, his stomach flipping with joy to finally be filled with his favorite organs. 

But seeing you squirm, gave him no pleasure, oddly. Your horror didn't give any sort of satisfaction like other's did. Jack remembered feeling amiss. And as he continued to scan your body, the gaze went from hunger to pure lust. He wanted you both ways so badly. But this want threw him off. He remembered having to force himself off of you, for your scent was too much. Another sniff would've driven him to slice you open right there. But he controlled his unfathomable hunger for you.   
That's what changed everything and made him feel so complicated. 

He came to the conclusion that you both could never be together, no matter how self-disciplined Jack was, he knew if he was around you, even on a full stomach, would want to eat you.   
But as he made his way toward your small cabin, he was filled with determination to make his dreams become reality. So, as usual, he sat down at the edge of the treeline and waited to hear your footsteps echo off the trees to get a glimpse at your perfect figure.

"Never hurt anyone to try," he mumbled in conclusion to his thoughts as he waited.   
He must have waited for hours daydreaming about seeing you again until he realized the moon was high and you had not come home yet. The sky became darker but the almost full moon cast dim light over the trees and into the forest. Jack anxiously stood to check if he somehow missed you passing by in his daze, but no lights in your house were turned on and the windows were shut. There were no footprints on the path either.   
You came home every day at this time. Why weren't you back yet?   
Jack pulled on his black leather gloves and decided to pull a risky move.

He'd change into his human form, even though he couldn't manage it for long because it would drain his remaining energy without food, and look for you in town. Jack had to be extra careful if police were around, they'd instantly be on his ass for "disappearing" nearly three days ago.   
He had only faked it so he wouldn't have to talk to you in the library anymore. He regretted his choice, but at the time, being around you caused his hunger to deepen and evolve into that of almost starvation. As well as that he didn't want to get too personal more than he already had just in case he went ballistic and killed you on accident.  
Was watching you from afar too much to ask for?

Apparently it was, seeing as fate wanted to draw himself closer to the female.   
As he neared the paved road, he concentrated and switched from monster to human. He took off his mask and gently set it in his satchel, before  jogging down the empty road that hopefully led to you, safe and sound.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boi here's a long chapter. This week is gonna be busy busy busy so here's something to tide yall over until I find the time to write up more :^)  
> Also as I wrote this whole thing I was listening to MISSIO (especially their Loner album) bc honestly their music fits with EJ so much?? 11/10 recommend yall listen to them on spotify or youtube sometime!

As Jack ran into town, passing multiple shops, wary of law enforcement, he could already feel his energy draining. Keeping this form up would soon be difficult. He needed to find you quick.  
He caught sight of (h/c) going into the small hunting and tack shop. Hopeful, Jack meandered into the store, pulling up his hood to avoid anyone from seeing his face.

He wandered through aisles upon aisles of hunting traps, guns, and ammo before spotting you at the counter. You had purchased a few bear traps, a big flashlight, some rope, and a hunting knife barely bigger than his scalpel.  
Your smaller hand was shaking as you handed the burly man behind the counter your money before starting to pack the supplies into a decent sized cardboard box the man had given you. Jack focused on your features for a minute, noting your attire.  
Your soft looking hair was in a high ponytail and you were still dressed in your work attire, a style Jack came to be attracted to. Buttoned up blouse, high waisted pencil skirt, tights, and heels usually paired with a sweater of sorts pleased him oddly. Maybe he had a thing for well-dressed women? It always looked like you had your shit together. But at the same time he loved seeing you in your "pajamas" if you could even call them that. Lace underwear, almost see-through shirt, god that definitely almost made him go mad.  
As Jack continued to daydream, he didn't notice that you had already left and started to walk home.

And that the man behind the counter was no longer behind the counter, but behind him. The heavy tap on his shoulder snapped him out of his oh so wonderful daze, and caused him to go rigid.

"Hey buddy, the store is about to close. You going to buy something?"  
The man spoke in a deep tone, resting a hand on Jack's shoulder as he casually pointed with his free hand to the door. Jack said nothing, not wanting to be recognized as the missing Jack Nyras. But his efforts were fruitless as the man, expecting an answer, became cross, trying to use the hand on Jack's shoulder to spin him around. Jack silently tried to fight back, but this guy was way bigger and stronger than he was. The man grunted in anger before finally spinning Jack around to face him.  
The anger immediately fizzled away as he was met with the face of the missing man who was the subject of town gossip. 

"Y-you're that guy! Jack, was it?"  
The bigger man questioned. Jack's eyes widened, not letting out a word.  
"Well fuck. Guess I've been found out," the brunette thought as he used the man's confusion to wriggle out of the relaxing grip on his shoulder.  
The uncharacteristically bright lights in the store in contrast to the darkness outside almost disoriented Jack but nevertheless he ran through the aisles, pushing his increasingly tired legs to their limit as he made sure his hood was back on before slamming the store doors open. Despite the man's yelling for him to stop, Jack sprinted down the street to the safety of the woods.  
He kept an eye out for you, but you were nowhere to be seen.  
And he prayed that the man didn't call the cops after him.  
After running into the woods and placing his mask back on, he seemed to be giving in to a powerful fatigue that plagued his body. He kept up this human façade for too long. He changed back to his normal form and dragged himself back to your home.  
But as he made his way back to you, he couldn't help but wonder why you had bought all those things. Maybe you aimed to catch him if he ever went back into your cabin? Thoughts wracked his brain as your home came into sight. He hid among the trees and noticed the lights were on. Jack sighed in relief knowing you were safe. Only one window's curtains were opened, and he could see into your room. He spotted you packing up the bear traps and rope in a black backpack.

You left the flashlight and knife out before you went to your curtains and closed them.  
Jack was even more confused. Packing up a backpack? You usually left the curtains open when you slept to watch for him. His only conclusion was that you were leaving. But it was very late now. Almost early morning at that. Why would you leave the house now?  
He saw the front door and you emerged. Jack nearly clutched a gloved hand over his heart.  
You were dressed in a tight black turtleneck, black skinny jeans, and donned black combat boots. Your hair was still up like before. You adjusted your black backpack and messed with the hunting knife strapped to your thigh.  
If hearts could appear above his head, they would've. The new style, in his opinion, was hot as all hell. As he sat, nearly drooling, you turned on the flashlight before heading into the woods.  
The gears in the grey-skinned monster's head started to turn, but he wasn't going to assume what you might've been doing. He stupidly decided to follow you. He had enough energy to investigate before he had to return to his cabin when the sun came out in a few hours.  
He silently creeped behind your form, making sure to not step on any leaves or sticks that would've made his presence known. You walked a perimeter in the woods around your home first, setting the bear traps as you went. Probably to catch him, Jack thought.  
But after you were done, you ventured further into the woods behind your home. The woods that didn't lead to town.

You walked into a clearing, the moonlight illuminating the spot well, before you set down your flashlight. Jack slowly moved through the trees that surrounded the clearing, never taking his focus off you.  
The grass and trees seemed to give off an eerie glow as condensation on plants glittered.  
You huffed before saying something under your breath. Jack couldn't quite catch what you said before you let out a yell that made him jump.

"Jack Nyras! Are you out there? It's me, (Y/n)!"  
You yelled out to the quiet forest as loud as you could.  
It finally was clear to Jack. You were looking for him.  
Well, not him. But the Jack Nyras you knew. It was clear that you loved Jack Nyras enough to do something as stupid as this. Sadness struck through his heart like ice and he lowered his head. There was no way you would ever love the real him that much.  
But some rustling behind the girl made him snap to attention.  
You seemed to notice too, as you fumbled to turn off your flashlight and run into the trees about ten feet off to where Jack was hiding. 

"Is anyone there?"  
A loud voice boomed. As Jack looked closely, he saw multiple beams of light.  
Flashlights.  
He visibly stiffened, staying as still as he could.  
It was the police. That asshole back at the hunting shop must have called them.  
Your yelling probably alerted them to the area.  
As he crouched, planning on what to do, he heard you move away from him. He focused on your form and realized what you were trying to do.  
As quietly as you could, you planned to get the hell out of this situation. You didn't know why you had ran from the police, you just did. Maybe you didn't want to be caught doing something weird or be classified as crazy.  
You planned to creep back to where you had come, and to run home. The only problem was that the group of officers came from the path you had, and were blocking it. So you just wanted to silently creep behind them and book it, hoping they didn't have any dogs to chase after you.  
Jack seemed to pick up on your plan pretty quick and decided that he should do the same. He debated about killing them all instead, but then again they most likely bad guns or could call for backup.  
So as you slowly made your way past the officers, they didn't bat an eye as most of them had started to search the clearing.  
Jack followed close behind you, careful to not be caught by you or the police.  
As you both neared a safe distance away from the clearing and the surrounding trees, you made a fairly loud step, not seeing the pile of twigs you had accidentally stepped on.  
Jack inwardly cringed before hearing shouts and seeing a few flashlights pointed in your direction. 

You panicked and decided to run, hoping they wouldn't catch you by the time you had reached your home. Over the shouts, Jack groaned at seeing you flee and decided to follow suit, knowing it was a stupid idea. You on the other hand, only heard Jack's close steps following you, and that pushed you to run harder.  
There was no way they could've caught up this quick. Yet you still blindly ran toward where you thought you had came, hoping the moonlight would give you enough light to guide through the woods.  
Jack could hear the police were gaining on him, but he pushed his already exhausted body harder. He saw that you were a little ways ahead of him and was a bit surprised to say the least. You were fast for being so small. He was the one with the long legs, but he remembered how his body was literally about to give out and how hard he was breathing so he shrugged the thought off.  
You on the other hand, only focused on how ragged your breaths were coming out and how the footsteps behind you became more faint and distant. How you could outrun a trained officer you didn't know. You noticed how the trees became more dense and the light of the moon was becoming dimmer and dimmer. Soon, you would be running in darkness if the trees continued to cluster together like this.

After what seemed like hours of running, but was only a few minutes, the shouting became louder to Jack. His legs ached and his breathing became shallow, like his lungs had no more air to give. His chest burned.  
The monster already lost sight of you, but he was more concerned with not getting caught himself at this point.  
But a sudden loud snap echoed through the trees, scaring away all the birds. An unmistakable scream followed. Your scream.  
Jack's heart clenched at hearing your bloodcurdling screech, but it spurred him to push himself even harder to reach where you were.  
You had fallen onto your back before sitting up and cradling your bleeding ankle. You didnt see where you were stepping and had gotten caught in your own bear trap. At least you knew you were close to home.  
Searing pain coursed through your leg and your ankle throbbed. Hot tears ran down your cheeks as you tried to pry the metal off with trembling hands. You knew if you didn't escape quick, the police would catch you.  
You heard footsteps fairly close to you and a sob escaped your lips as you tried to pry the trap off sloppily, with no luck.

Jack smelled the blood before he even saw you. He skidded to a halt when he saw you struggling with the trap, sobbing.  
His senses were overwhelmed with the scent of your fear and gore. Jack was already starving and weak, the mere scent was enough to make him stop and fight for dominance against his instincts. He thought about how easy it would be to pounce on you and rip through your flesh with his teeth. The beautiful sounds you would make as your skin would give and your blood would pour out onto Jack's awaiting tongue.  
You stopped struggling when you heard the footsteps stop around five feet behind you. You slowly turned your head, expecting an officer. But instead you were met with a sight you wished to never see this close again.  
EJ stood tall, looking over you, as still as a marble statue. That blue mask that plagued your being stood out against the dark surroundings. Somehow this situation played out much worse than you planned.

He didn't pounce on you, he didn't say anything. He just stood there, frozen. That scared you more than anything. He wasn't even looking you over like he had before.  
After a tense minute or so, he slowly tilted his head and started made a noise. It sounded like a mix of a growl and groan.  
The shouts of the police drew nearer and nearer. In a flash, the monster pounced on top of you, hurriedly holding you down as a scream bubbled up past your lips. This time, there was no hesitation. No look over like before. A chuckle was heard from under the mask over your screams, and it turned into full maniacal laughter as he lifted up his mask over his mouth. He smiled crazily, showing you a row of sharp teeth. A mixture of the acidic black liquid and drool fell on your face and heaving chest. You thrashed despite your pain and fear, trying to throw him off you. He released your arms to try and lift up your shirt so it wouldn't get in the way of his meal. He lifted it so it rested just below your breasts and gently ran his gloved hands along your stomach and sides.  
You took this as a chance to punch and try and hit him off you, but to no avail. His chest was hard and he didn't even seem phased by your sloppy hits. But in a stroke of luck, as he lowered his mouth down to begin eating, you managed to punch him hard enough in the cheek. His mask flew off his face and his hood fell off his head, face turned to the side because of the force you had used. He seemed stunned.  
You caught sight of brown locks and grey skin. His hair hid most of his face. But when he turned back to look at you, an even greater fear became present. 

The monster had no eyes. Just empty black sockets that oozed the black liquid. EJ smiled maniacally again, showing off his smile, before you passed out, partly from fear and partly from blood loss. It was a shame he wouldn't get to hear you scream now.  
But as he went to feast again, an officer pushed back the foliage and pointed their flashlight at Jack, causing him to look at them like a wild animal, crouched over it's prey.  
The officer froze as more officers caught up to them, freezing at the sight as well.  
Jack slowly moved off your body and stood.  
Not even a few seconds passed before he started to attack the horde of officials, leaving only blood and entrails in his wake.

After the massacre ended and most of the police were picked clean of organs, Jack snapped out of the trance. He noticed his bare hands were still buried in an absolutely mutilated body, holding some organ he couldn't identify as it was covered in blood and flesh. He calmly let go and shook his hands free of the carnage before standing up and scanning the area. Bodies littered the forest ground around him.  
Speaking of bodies, his mind immediately went to you. In a panic, he ran to where he spotted the glint of metal on the ground and a heap next to it. He couldn't have eaten you. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he killed or hurt you in any way.  
He skidded to your body and dropped to his knees. He noticed that you were unconscious before he looked over your body hurriedly. No wounds except your ankle. He sighed in relief, his breath making a cloud in the cold air.  
As soon as he noticed the cloud, he felt his cheeks. No mask.  
"Oh for fuck's sake. I hope (Y/n) didn't see..."  
He mumbled to himself as he found his mask near your body, picking it up and putting it on, running a dirty hand through his now matted hair. It had blood in it anyways.  
The sun was very close to coming up, and that meant more police on their way if these ones never reported back.  
Jack made no attempt to hide the bodies as he leaned down to pry the trap off your ankle. Blood poured from the wound. He winced at the eventual pain you'd be in later as he picked you up and slung your form over his shoulder. He felt stronger, more in control. Those officers definitely made a good binge meal. It comforted him knowing that he would be able to control himself around you now.  
He started to head over to your home before he spotted an officer knocking on your door.  
They came faster than he thought. That meant more would be searching the surrounding forest soon. The best option he had was to take you to his cabin.

So that's what he did.

Jack jogged, a hand on your legs to keep you on his shoulder, and headed to his cabin that was deep in the woods. He doubted they would ever go that deep to search for you anyways.  
The early light of dawn made Jack feel warm for once. And he never shied away from it like he had before.


	11. Author's Note

Happy Friday the thirteenth!  
Lmao anyways, I've been trying to get over being sick for the past few days so I think I'll update the next chapter either today or tomorrow. 

P.s. I've also been busy watching (and finishing) Marble Hornets seeing as how around 4 years ago when it was popular I didn't get around to watching the series. BUT IT WAS REALLY GOOD AND SO WELL DONE. Honestly at first I thought it'd be kinda cheesy and a rip off of the Blair witch project or something along those lines (because at the time I knew of it mildly from being in the creepypasta fandom) but honestly if you're really into Masky, Hoodie, and Slenderman (plus that creepy and cryptic shit) I highly recommend it!

Here I am hopping on bandwagons 4 years late go me.

Anyways I think yall will like the next chapter! Hope this story is going good so far!

Thanks for all the reads and love ♡


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hnng sorry for the wait on this chapter! I couldn't actually type that well on my phone for a few days because I put on fake nails then decided to say fuck it all and rip them off fml :^)))  
> But I talk too much so enjoy this wonderful kinda filler chapter!  
> Also I love angst so enjoy that too.

You were dead. You were sure of it. Breaths shallow like a dying animal, you ran through the forest, deep scratches littered your exposed extremities from branches you frantically pushed past.   
Looking over your shoulder, you realized it had stopped and was getting smaller and smaller as you ran as fast as you could. Your stomach did flips as you started to slow.   
Just a minute ago it was chasing you like a crazed animal... why was it stopping now?   
You turned your head towards a cabin that didn't seem to be there before.   
It was dilapidated and covered in dust, from the looks of it no one had touched it in a decent amount of years. A part of you said to run away and find help, but the other part itched to investigate and hide from it.   
Your feet moved on their own as you neared the door, a shaky hand touched the dusty and splintered wood railing of the porch as you passed.   
You stood in front of the entrance for a few seconds before remembering that it was probably close behind you, so you pushed the door open. A strong scent of rot and decay overwhelmed your senses, but you persisted.  
The framing on the ceiling was clearly unstable and ready to give in, cobwebs littered every corner, and old trash covered the scratched up wood floors. It was silent in exception for your slow footsteps. You took a minute to admire the dusk through a cracked and dusty window before the unmistakable sound of crunching invaded your ears.   
It wasn't the crunching of the trash underfoot. My dear, that was the crunching of something much worse. Your eyes widened in horror as the sound of something wet and what you could only describe as chewy was heard as well. Your brain said to run, your legs didn't listen. Instead you creeped down the long dimmed hallway, hoping that whatever was making those noises didn't hear you. As you neared the closed room at the very end of the hall, the noises grew louder and louder until you were sure they would drive you insane.   
You crouched down, covering your mouth with a hand to keep anyone from hearing your near hyperventilating. With your other hand, you slowly turned the knob and pushed the heavy door open enough for you to peek in.   
It was hunched over feasting on someone.  
Your stomach churned as you wondered how it could've caught up with you, but you shook it off. You were more interested in who the unlucky soul was.   
You cracked the door open a little bit more.

The face of the elderly librarian stared at you with a blank expression, eyes glazed over.   
You fell back, holding in your sobs.   
But it had already heard you.  
It turned around slowly, showing you it's blood covered razor sharp teeth. It's long grey tongue lapped up the blood around its lips and the black goo ran down its sickly grey skin. You audibly gasped and tried to feebly scootch away, but it was too fast. It stood and lunged for the door.

•••

You awoke from the dream, a sheen of sweat covered your skin. Your eyes adjusted to the darkness while you started to feel your ankle throb. You remembered the events before you passed out and became relieved that you were actually alive. EJ left you be, somehow.  
You decided to turn your attention to your current predicament.  
You were inside, covered in a thick, warm blanket. You assumed you were in a bedroom, but you couldn't tell where as it was too dark to see. Surely if the police had found you, you'd be in a hospital. Senses heightened, you quietly slipped out of the bed, trying hard to not be heard with your injury. The wood floors freaked slightly under your weight as you opened the door and shuffled to what you assumed to be a dimly lit living room. The hallway was giving you major deja vu but you pressed on, determined to find out who had saved you. 

You peeked into the room and spotted the back of a form on the couch. You squinted to notice the details.  
You concluded it was a man, the broad shoulders that peeked over the small couch was evidence enough. They had either black or brown hair, wore a black cable sweater and had lighter skin. He had one arm draped on the back of the couch and was focusing on something in his lap. Upon closer inspection, you heard light snoring. You decided to take a look at this mystery man while you had the chance. As you hobbled over to the couch and stood in front of the man, his hair covered most of his face when his head hung low like it was. So you took his chin in your palm and gently lifted. 

It was Jack.

You gasped, dropped his chin like it was a hot piece of coal, which caused him to startle and wake. He squinted and rubbed his eyes as he tried to focus on your shivering form.  
He grinned warmly before stretching, a delicious groan breaking the tense silence,

"Mornin' sweetheart."  
You couldn't form words at this point, you just stared with wide eyes, not sure if this was actually happening. 

"J-Jack...?"  
You finally sputtered out before you lowered yourself to your knees in front of him, your ankle not being able to hold your weight anymore. He nervously laughed, seeing the position you were in (he's a bit of a perv okay I love it) and the way you were eagerly looking up at him. 

"Y-yeah," he faked coughed to cover his stutter, "It's me."  
You quickly snapped out of your trance. You went from angry, to sad, then worried,

"I just can't believe it's you... it's been a while..."  
You looked around to take in more of the run down cabin. It was almost identical to the one in your dream. You panicked for a second, debating on whether or not the dream was accurate, but Jack interrupted your thoughts as he brushed your cheek tenderly. His blue orbs looked into your (e/c) ones and your heart just about stopped. You honestly just wanted to jump up and kiss him (girl me too tf!!), but he said something you didn't quite catch in your little day dreamland. You blinked a few times, 

"What was that...?"  
He smiled and leaned back, his warm hand gone,

"I said, I need to explain some things. But it can wait until morning. You need more sleep."  
You wanted answers badly, but Jack was right. Your head was pounding and you became aware of the throbbing injury yet again. In a hurry you tried to stand, but he interrupted, surprising you with his hasty tone,

"No, no, no. Allow me."  
He stood, towering over your form for a split second before picking you up princess-style and carrying you back down the long hallway to the room you came from. He got you situated in bed and turned on a light. The electricity must have been overall shitty, or the house was too old to have proper power because it only gave a faint glow to the room.  
The room was pretty plain, a small bed, a dresser, and a nightstand. The window was boarded up and covered with a thick sheet.  
It was odd, but you had more important questions. 

"Jack, where are we? How did you find me? Where were you when you disappeared? What day is it-"   
Jack simply put a finger to your lips and shushed you,

"I said I'll explain everything later, remember? I've only gotten a few winks myself, so I think we both need these next few hours. Agreed?"  
You were frustrated that he wouldn't just tell you, but he did look tired, so you nodded and snuggled into the warm blanket more.   
Jack watched as you cuddled into bed and his heart fluttered, god you were perfect. 

It was a shame he had to come clean and fuck up this peaceful relationship in the morning. But nevertheless, Jack smiled as he took a seat at the edge of your bed, gently running a hand through your soft hair. Sure it was a bit dirty from the events in the forest, but he didn't care. He needed as much time with you before admitting that he was the monster you were so terrified of.   
He had a burning desire to just let time freeze right then and there. You peacefully dozing off and his hand in your (h/c) locks, this was his heaven. He no longer hungered for your organs, but instead hungered for your love and warmth.   
But eventually, he had to pull away. You were deep in slumber when Jack went to the bathroom. He quietly shut and locked the worn out door, and stared at his reflection in the eerie dim light. The silence was occasionally broken by the sink dripping slowly. 

The scratched up mirror showed someone that he didn't recognize. This wasn't him. The blue eyes, nice skin, normal teeth, it was all a façade. He thought of this form as if it were another mask.   
His blue mask, showed a killer. A horrifying monster that ate organs to attempt to satisfy it's unquenchable bloodlust. The human form showed the person he wanted to be again. A laid-back college student who was a hit with the ladies and lived a normal life.   
Both were just covering up what he was.   
But he didn't actually know what he was at this point. He wasn't just a monster, even though he thought so sometimes. And he wasn't Jack Nyras anymore like he once was.   
He felt like an empty shell of the sorriest excuse for a life.   
With a heavy sigh, Jack switched back into his normal form. (I honestly don't know how he does this but let's just assume he's a magical girl and leave it at that)   
He now stared (and let's just assume he can somehow see without eyes. He's a magical girl after all) at his light grey skin and empty eye sockets. More black liquid trickled down onto his cheeks and dripped into the sink and counter. 

Jack rolled up the sleeves of his sweater only to see that the new scratches and tears were still healing and not fully closed yet. The old scars were nearly faded. He hadn't hated himself as much as he did until he met you. Jack felt like a goddamn creature compared to an angel like you. And to top it off, you were scared of him. And he thought that he was over hating himself for not being human before.   
But he didn't blame you for causing this downward spiral. Far from it.   
Jack had always had problems with being way he was. He would often get disgusted by his own eating habits and just simply stop eating until he couldn't stand it anymore. That's what brought him to you, so he couldn't complain.  
But as far as he could tell, you were the light at the end of his dark tunnel of despair.

But what if you didn't want to be? 

That's what tore Jack apart worse than his own nails that pierced the skin of his arms. Part of him knew you wouldn't be able to accept him, but one part stayed hopeful still.  
So he shook his head to clear his thoughts and wiped up the black goo out of the sink and cold counter before leaving the bathroom and heading to his room. He sifted through the closet and pulled out his signature black hoodie and blue mask. The brunette hesitated for a minute or two before snapping out of it. He changed into his hoodie and pulled on the mask before grabbing his satchel and favorite scalpel. Jack then made sure you weren't going to wake up any time soon, then snuck out of the cabin, gently shutting the door, and locking it.   
His black converse made prints in the forest floor as he ventured back to town, fully intending to stock up on his favorite organ so he wouldn't lose control around you again.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a hard time writing this chapter for some reason? And it's probably because I have an idea where this will go but not really because I'm not good at planning lmao. Enjoy!

Pools of (e/c) fluttered open slowly. You guessed that it was the very early morning, before dawn, as it was still dark in your room.   
Either that or you had slept all day, which probably wasn't likely. Your ankle was still sore, but much better than earlier so you decided to walk around a bit, eager to figure out what had happened. That was of course, if Jack was awake.  
The door creaked as you opened it and slowly made your way to the living room. Jack wasn't there. So you looked in the kitchen and bathroom, with no luck.  
As you stood in front of what you assumed to be Jack's room, as it was the only other bedroom besides the one you were in, you hesitated. Maybe he didn't want to be disturbed if he was still asleep, or slept naked or something ridiculous that he wouldn't want you to see.   
A hesitant knock echoed throughout the small cabin along with the sound of utter silence. After about a minute of waiting, shuffling a foot against the wood floor, you were about to give up until you heard the front door unlock and open.

In a panic, you quietly opened Jack's door and slipped in, hoping Jack could defend you against whoever had broken in.  
But the man you yearned for wasn't there, the bed was empty. Panic gripped your heart and mind as you went into survival mode, something you went into as of late. You heard the door closing, a bump, then footsteps gradually getting closer to the hallway and the room you were in. Heart thumping in your chest, you kneeled and pressed your ear to the door, hoping that whoever it was, it gave you leverage to block the door with your body if they tried to come in.   
But as the tense seconds passed, the footsteps drew nearer to you, but passed the room and faded to the end of the hallway.  
They were going to your room.   
It must have been Jack coming back from something to check if you were up. The panic ceased and you let out a breath you didn't know your lungs were holding and stood up, turning the doorknob to greet the brunette and chastise him for scaring you.

But as you opened the door, no one said anything. No call outs of your name in curiosity, no laughs of "Why'd you go in there?", just silence. And for some reason that unnerved you.  
You expected that Jack would've said something snarky at you being in his room at the very least, but you were met with silence as you exited the room and slowly stepped into the hallway. As you turned to look down the hall towards your room, you caught a sight of dark blue and black. 

A part of you yearned to scream, the other wanted to run away even though you knew he would catch you.   
So you did the next best thing, sit and stare in horror. EJ turned toward you, eyesockets boring into your soul, and the stench of blood was overwhelming. If his eyes could widen, they would've.  
This was not how his plan was supposed to go. Slowly he turned around fully and took a defensive stance, hands raised in something like a pathetic surrender. One foot after the other, he creeped his way toward you, still staring in shock and almost in a trance.   
But as he got about 5 feet from you, you shook yourself from your fear, and took in a big breath. He knew what you were going to do as soon as you inhaled that deeply and panicked. Waving his hands to signal you to stop quickly, he held a finger up to his mask and made a "shush" gesture. This caught you off guard, and you immediately assumed that he was running from something worse and couldn't make a sound or you'd both be fated to something terrible.   
But nevertheless, you screamed anyway.  
Jack sprung into action and pinned you down, covering your mouth to muffle the screams while kneeling over you. The events in the forest suddenly came back, and you geared up to scream louder, not paying attention to the burning in your lungs. But he shook his head rapidly.

"Hey... hey please don't scream okay? I know it's scary but bear with me here," he spoke in a surprisingly soothing tone. The voice sounded familiar but you couldn't quite place it. In your confusion you stopped screaming and thrashing, so he hesitantly uncovered your mouth and arm, sitting up.  
He raised his hands to remove his mask and that action alone triggered the flashback to the woods.   
So in self-defense, you punched him again like you did last time.  
Blue mask went flying, scratching the wood floor as it slid. He turned back to look at you,

"What the hell? Again?"   
He ran a gloved hand over his face and rubbed his surprisingly good jawline. (NO (Y/n) now's not the time. But it will be later wink wonk)  
He groaned deeply and his shoulders sagged a bit before looking down at you again, black substance from his eyes nearly leaking onto you. He noted how hard you were breathing and the fear in your eyes and felt a little depressed. But that wasn't as important as you knowing the truth.

"Look, I just wanted to explain some things. Just... don't freak out and punch me again or something,"   
he said as he switched to his human form right before your very eyes.   
Grey skin turned pale, eyesockets into pools of brilliant blue, sharp teeth into a goofy, but charming, grin.  
At this point you were sure this was a dream or you were hallucinating this whole ordeal. There was no way he could've just transformed like that, but somehow the fact that you had seen it in person made it very real. You wanted to scream, talk, whisper even, but your throat had long since closed and your mind couldn't form coherent words to say. Instead you just shook your head in disbelief.

There was no way. There was no goddamn way.

"I know I know this is really... really fucked up but you have to believe me,"  
He ran his hand over his now milky skinned temples, blue eyes closed in frustration at your lack of an answer. There was no reason not to believe him, the proof was right in front of you, but you were just baffled as to why.  
Why did he target you?  
Why did he want to eat you?  
Why did he disappear?

Why did he lie?

In a sudden burst of strength you pushed him off you, not caring what he'd do to you at this point. He was literally the one person you liked very much yet was the stuff of your nightmares, no big deal.

"I need time to think," was all you said before rushing to your room and slamming the door. Jack, now baffled at your delayed response, wanted to explain himself to you. But he decided to leave you alone to your devices and wait until the time was right. Out of courtesy to you, he stayed in his human form, assuming you were more comfortable with not seeing a monster, and warily stood up from your push. Dragging his way to the kitchen and where he threw down his bag of kidneys, he grimaced.   
He was disgusting.

 

Throughout the day you spent time thinking and planning an escape. There was no way you wanted to stay with Jack anymore, nor did you want to hear all the details.   
After some odd hours, the sun finally set, casting a warm orange glow that illuminated your room through the boarded up windows. You stood in the middle of the room, looking at how the light cast shadows on your hands, thinking more about what you were planning on doing. He was a serial killer, but there was a change you'd outrun him.   
Maybe.   
Maybe?  
You sighed lightly, closing your eyes tightly, basking in the natural glow of the sunset.  
Maybe he wanted to eat you after all and this whole Jack Nyras thing was just an act, a ploy to lure you in maybe. You began to pace around the room, mind wandering to dark spaces and theories.

After a few hours, the sun had set and darkness creeped through the trees like a thick mist. Jack listened intently to what you were doing and for the most part, you had been very quiet for a while.   
Now curious, he carefully made his way to your closed door, and knocked lightly, 

"(Y/n)...? Are you okay?"  
No answer. Another knock. 

"Just go away. I-I'm not coming out..." You said quietly, sniffling a bit. Jack knew you had been crying and that hurt him more than you would ever know.

"You don't have to come out, I promise. But... is it okay if I sit here and talk to you... through the door?" He nervously asked.   
He heard a faint whimper,

"O-okay."  
Jack inwardly sighed in relief and sat outside your door, criss crossing his legs to get comfortable for a long talk.

"Can I explain myself?"   
You didn't answer to that for a bit.

"You didn't let me finish before you kinda punched me and ran off," he continued in your silence.

"Okay then..." You finally chocked out. A serial killer, your worst nightmare, explaining himself? Fat chance you'd actually listen to all his lies. Maybe as he was distracted with talking you could find a way out. Maybe pry the boards off the windows and run back into town.

"Look, I didn't mean to try and eat you-" he started before you cut him off with a dry, humorless chuckle,

"Yeah mhm."  
You heard him thump his head against the door in frustration,

"At first I did want to eat you. But it was just because I was desperate. I was starving myself. I hate my eating habits, okay? I used my human form to get close to you, but instead I changed my mind. I only wanted to scare you before I realized that. It's boring around here and you were fun to rile up."  
You weren't sure to believe him or not,

"...What made you change your mind? About eating me?" You took in shaky breaths at his explanation. It made sense, and that scared you.

"Because..." he started before he sighed heavily and moved closer to lean against your door, 

"Because I like you. That's all."


	14. Author's Note

Well, well, well, another boring author's note. DON'T WORRY YALL I AM IN THE PROCESS OF FINISHING CHAPTER 15 AND PLANNING CHAPTER 16!  
All I wanted to say was that someone on my tumblr messaged me and asked if I had a quotev and AO3 because they all had the same username as my tumblr and the answer is yes. So just to put it out there, my quotev is ( https://www.quotev.com/PandasGalore ) (I changed it from "pandawasbored" years ago) and feel free to read the works I wrote in like middle school on there lmao (And by the way, I won't ever be updating any of the stories I have on there whoops). But eventually I do plan on posting "Over and Over" on my quotev after I finish it!

Another thing I forgot to mention, I am currently planning on writing another creepypasta x reader story after I finish this (Masky fans will be shooketh hint hint). It's pretty much all planned out and will hopefully be better than this one which I just kinda picked up after a year or so and rolled with it without having any clue where it would lead to. So I'm very excited and hope you guys will like it just as much as yall like this one!

Last thing, if you want to talk to me more or something for some reason (OR WANT TO BE MY FRIEND BECAUSE I CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY FRIENDS), I'm more active on my tumblr ( https://pandawasbored.tumblr.com/ ). So if you follow me on there you can see other things I'm interested in and stupid things like that. 

Anyways, boring things aside, I hope yall had a fun and safe Halloween! Chapter 15 will be updated soon!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the long awaited boring chapter!   
> I'm busy a lot and I'm so so sorry I haven't updated this in a while :'^))   
> Anyways enjoy!

You could hear your heartbeat and time seemed to stop. Breathing became labored and trying to focus your eyes was a difficult task. Jack fell deathly silent when he didn't hear a reaction.  
Hell, hearing you scream or gasp or cry would've been better than silence. He scooted closer to the door in hopes of somehow picking up something, anything.   
You didn't know how to feel, it was if your brain had switched off and your body couldn't move.   
After a tense minute or two, a few gentle knocks on the door sounded like pounding. Your eyes focused, your hands clenched so tight that you could see your knuckles turn white. Hesitantly, you made your way to sit against the door, back against the wood, you sighed heavily. Jack's words were muffled, like your ears had decided to just tune out what he said while being hypersensitive to every other sound.  
The killer began to grow increasingly more anxious by the second. You hadn't said anything in over 5 minutes. As Jack's began to pound his fist into the door heavily and shout out of worry, your vision formed into a tunnel. You felt every harsh knock on your cold back through the heavy door. Instead of muffled words, all you could hear was the high pitched whine of the old light on the ceiling. In a daze, you shifted your heavy eyes to stare at your hands. You were moving from your spot on the floor from Jack's frantic banging.  
The last thing your ears had managed to pick up was a yell, and then the peaceful chirping of the birds outside before your mind cleared and you slumped down into the heavy shag carpet.

 

It was as if all of your other senses had started working before you could open your eyes. You first felt your body bounce softly and felt that you were sitting up. You concluded that you were most definitely not laying in a bed. Next, you heard the familiar sound of a car engine, and the faint noise of other cars. You had started to piece together what was happening and where you were, until your thoughts were interrupted by a deep voice, 

"I know you're up."

You knew that voice. And it chilled you to your very core at what you pieced together so far. After a few seconds, you found the courage to open your eyes. You were immediately met with the sight of the passing road and forest scenery. It looked to be the early morning and the sky was a pleasant shade of grey that contrasted well against the dark trees. 

"You sleep well?" Jack said in a joking tone, chuckling softly. Your eyes moved to look at his reflection in the car window. He was looking straight ahead, and was changed into his human form. His striking blue eyes were half lidded and tired looking, his mouth curled into a small grin. A huff escaped your lips as you sat up and turned, head pounding.   
You groaned before rubbing a temple with your fingers, hoping to find some relief in the massage. 

"How long have I been out?" You managed out. Jack leaned on the wheel slightly, playing with the strings of his black hoodie with deft, slender fingers,

"Only about a day." The brunette answered flatly. Your mind whirled, one whole day? What the fuck could have happened?   
Jack heard your groan of confusion and explained.

"After you passed out, it took me a while to pry open that door and help you. We were in the house for a few hours until the police tracked us down and found the cabin. So I took as much supplies as I could, hauled you over my shoulder, and ran. Lucky I found this old truck on the side of the road leading into town. So I hotwired it and we've been on the road ever since."   
The explanation did nothing to quench your fears, in fact it glued all the pieces you had before together then combusted into flames. You started to panic, breathing hard and scrambling to look for something familiar, anything. Your eyes scanned from the numerous bags in the small seat behind you to Jack.

"Calm down. Look, I know I basically kidnapped you against your will, but hear me out-" 

"When will I ever get to go back?! You just made me leave behind my whole goddamn life! My library, my house, all my shit-" you yelled as you were promptly cut off.

"Okay, okay! I get it! I know that I'm fucking awful! I destroyed your whole life and you should never forgive me for that, but keep in mind I've saved your ass numerous times to make up for it okay?!" Jack raised his voice and quickly took his concentration off the road to look you in the eye for a second before whipping his gaze off your surprised features. You were still terrified of him, even in human form, and he knew that just by raising his voice, he was slowly chasing you away. The hurt, confusion, and the fear in your (e/c) eyes said it all.   
You instantly became quiet, too scared to say anything more.

After a few more hours of driving, the sun was setting and the trees cast long shadows that raked over the vehicle. You had to admit, the shadows had framed his face and arms perfectly, but you were frankly too scared and embarrassed to stare for long.   
The hum of the engine pulled you back into sleep's embrace, and you felt your eyes grow heavy before you heard Jack's voice,

"Do you remember anything before you blacked out...?" He asked softly.  
In your sleepy state, you wanted to say that you remembered his confession, but part of you didn't want to deal with that bridge yet, especially if the both of you were stuck on the road together for god knows how long. So you lied,

"The last thing I remember is you explaining why you liked to scare me. Then I started to tune everything out." You played with a strand of your (h/l) (h/c) hair and turned away to face the window again. In the reflection, you could clearly see the hurt in Jack's eyes before he cleared his throat and ran a hand in his hair to cover most of his face,

"Okay then." 

 

You awoke to the sound of the truck sputtering to a stop. Confused and dazed, you sat up and noted that it was night now, the darkness only being penetrated by the dim headlights.   
Jack pulled over on the side of the road near the treeline and got out of the driver's seat. He stood and stretched, letting out a few small moans in the process. Your face heated up looking at his figure and made a mental note to remember how his noises sounded. Your eyes followed Jack as he made his way to lift open the hood of the vehicle, inspecting the engine and parts. You decided to get out and stretch as well, maybe peek over his shoulder to see what was wrong.  
Your feet made contact with the dusty ground and your ankle throbbed with a dull pain. Your painful headache was now thankfully reduced as well. As you stretched, you noted that you donned the same pants, combat boots, and tight turtleneck, but wore one of Jack's jackets. Specifically his green one that you had seen him wear before to the library. It was warm and big on your frame. He must have put it on you when he started to drive and you didn't notice until now. 

"Hey I have some good and bad news," Jack called out. You dreaded the bad news. He waved you over as he shut the hood.

"Lets start with the bad news first. The engine is completely dead and as far as I know, we're a long way away from anyone that can help us. Good news is that we can rest here tonight, because I am really tired," he drawled out the "really" before stretching again to rest his hands on the back of his head. You felt a gust of wind and hugged the jacket around yourself tighter,

"I'm honestly too tired to try and fix this problem right now, so fine. Let's rest and figure it out in the morning." You yawned and opened the truck door, climbing back into your seat and getting comfortable. You eyed Jack as he did the same. When he shut the door, you flipped the jacket hood over your eyes and crossed your arms. 

"You better not eat me while I sleep," you mumbled, only half-joking.

You could hear the smirk in his voice when he answered back,

"I make no promises, sweetheart."


	16. Author's Note

Sorry I haven't been updating this story frequently! Don't worry though, I will continue this story until the very end! I've been working on my upcoming creepypasta x reader so I'll be able to queue up all chapters and post on a regular basis.   
For now I'm just writing little drabbles to get my mind back on track for this story.   
As I said, I don't have a solid plan on how this will end so it takes a longer time to come up with ideas, sadly.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR WAITING PATIENTLY AND LIKING THIS ENOUGH TO KEEP ON READING! ♡


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHH thank you all for sticking around! ♡ The holidays are really busy for me so I didn't get to uploading this chapter smh. Enjoy!

You felt a gust of cold and gasped as your eyes snapped open. The morning chill caused the truck windows to freeze over and your warm breath made small, white clouds. Yawning, you flipped your hood back to take in your surroundings, but you quickly realized the frost blocked out most of the scenery. Your eyes traveled to the driver's seat and another draft of wind washed over you. It was because the driver's door was open.

And Jack was gone.

Panic set in as you started to breathe heavily, as if you were drowning. On one hand, there was no serial killer monster thing to hold you hostage or possibly eat you alive. But on the other hand, you were alone in the wilderness with no phone, no transportation, and a limited amount of food. You froze as you thought about the possibilities. Maybe he left to find help or maybe he needed to take a leak?   
You came to the conclusion that you needed to leave the truck to maybe find Jack, wherever he might have been.  
Carefully climbing out the driver's side, you were surprised to see that the tall pines of the forest were covered in a thin sheet of frost and snow. The sky was a dark grey but the cold seemed to wake you up and give you energy.   
Your gaze wandered to the treeline and you couldn't help but feel anxious. Something was wrong but you couldn't quite put a finger on what. If Jack was in trouble, even though you were deeply afraid of him, you concluded that you would need to save him since he did save you quite a few times. With squared shoulders and a newfound tinge of confidence, you started towards the woods.   
The tall trees casted long shadows and caused it to look like it was almost night. The wind rustled the leaves and the sound of birds chirping calmed you, as you ran a hand through your tangled mass of hair. One foot after the other, you slowly made your way farther from the truck. And slowly you heard less and less birds singing, less and less rustle of leaves, and more of how your heart was beating more and more frantically. You stopped and looked all around you. Just as you started to walk forward again, your hood got caught on a branch. Until you turned around and realized someone had grabbed it. And that someone was Jack. But your (e/c) eyes widened as you realized he had the mask on, scalpel in his other hand.   
He said no words as he started to drag you farther into the woods as you screamed and begged for help. No one was around to hear you.   
"He was acting," you thought, "He doesn't really like me."  
And part of you was sad that it was a lie.   
Instincts took over as you struggled to get out of the coat, but Jack had an iron grip. You tried to beg him to stop, frantically thrashing and tears starting to stream down your cheeks.  
But he suddenly stopped, and turned to look down at your smaller form, his grip never faltering.   
He raised the scalpel over his head and brought it down. Your bloodcurdling scream seemed to travel all the way back to the truck as you awoke with a jump and a loud gasp for air.

You heard a loud thump to your left and a groan,  
   
"W-what the hell (Y/n)? You scared the shit out of me-"  
You ripped the hood off your head and looked with wide eyes to Jack, who sat behind the wheel, brown hair an absolute mess. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and that's when you started to scream for real, trying to claw out of the passenger side door, nails trying to find the lock so you could run away from him.  
Jack seemed just as surprised and winced when your scream hit his ears. Screams never bothered him, but for some reason, yours did.  
He hesitantly reached and grasped your shoulder and in turn you snapped your gaze back to him, struggling even more than you were already. Jack inwardly sighed and leaned over more to hold you down. One hand on your shoulder, one hand on your thigh, and he leaned closer to rest his chin in the crook of your neck,

"Hey... hey it was a dream. Calm down, it's okay..." Jack whispered in a calming tone, with his morning voice it sounded deep and made you shiver.  
You snapped out of your half dream haze and started to cry, pushing his larger form off of you before curling up. Jack slowly leaned back into his seat, wishing he could've stayed like that with you for longer. But as your whimpers continued, he sighed and wished he could've helped. 

"Do you... do you want to talk about it...?" He finally said after a long silence. He saw your form move out of the corner of his eye.

"No," you muttered softly, sniffling still. But Jack knew better,

"If it has to do with anything I've done, I'm sorry." He sighed and rested his hands on the wheel, wishing he could've just driven you back so you could be happy. He could go back to visiting your library every day like he used to. He should've appreciated what he had at the time, if only he wasn't blinded by hunger. 

You didn't answer.

You both sat in silence for a while before you heard the sound of tires on the road. Jack perked up and looked in the rearview mirror before softly smiling. He quickly got out of the truck and you saw him run into the middle of the road. You slowly climbed out too and sat on the hood of the dead vehicle. You watched and shook your head, giggling slightly as the huge semi truck stopped on a dime to avoid hitting the brunette waving his arms wildly. The truck driver, an elderly woman, hopped out and went to scold Jack. Pointing her finger at him and yelling obscenities you couldn't quite hear. But Jack slumped at her rebuke before explaining. The woman visibly softened and gave a knowing smile, patting Jack on the shoulder. He smiled and jogged over to you,

"Looks like we have a ride."


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead! I'm determined to finish this story whether it kills me or not.  
> I took a bit of inspo from the end of the f***ing world on netflix since I finished that show recently and it turned out pretty well!   
> Enjoy lovelies ♡

Not even half an hour later you both had packed up what little items were in the truck and were currently in a stranger's rickety semi heading towards whatever town was closest. Jack had offered you take shotgun and he be smushed in the small seat in the back. The woman seemed very pleasant and kind in her own way, so you were grateful to talk to someone other than your kidnapper. The woman asked you both a series of understandable questions such as your names and ages. But as she toyed with the hem of her faded red flannel, she asked something that made you freeze,

"So, are you two dating?" You could see the smirk on her worn features out of the corner of your eye. Your cheeks heated up and you immediately shook your head, 

"U-um no we're not." (Gurl u lyinnnn)   
The woman tucked a strand of grey hair behind her ear while her smirk transformed more into a knowing smile. A few tense minutes passed in silence before the woman spoke again,

"Well I'm sorry for being nosy. I just wanted to know because that lad back there keeps looking at you like how my wife used to look at me." Your hands figeted in your lap and you saw through the rearview mirror that Jack was slightly pink, messing with his hoodie strings. 

"Excuse me for asking, but I can't help but notice that you said 'used to'," You squeaked quietly, looking expectantly at the woman for an answer.   
Smile still on her lips, she sighed,

"My wife died a while back. Cancer. Symptoms were a real bitch. I did everything I could to help her. I called specialists and doctors every day. I tried to protect her but the cancer didn't give a shit."

You were at a loss for words,

"I'm very sorry to hear that..."  
The woman briefly looked at you, smile fading,

"Thank you sweetie. It means a lot," she rolled her shoulders and continued, 

"I just wanted to say that my wife looked at me like I was her everything. Damn, I might as well been with the way she treated me. The way her eyes sparkled, they told me more than any words could. And..." She took a quick glance in the rearview mirror and leaned closer to you, 

"He looks at you like she used to look at me. I can see it in his big ol' blue eyes."  
She leaned back and focused on the road once again. Jack looked as if he was going to speak up, but decided against it and slumped down in his seat. He pulled his hood over his eyes as best as he could to hide the fading blush and crossed his arms tightly before lightly nodding off. You however stayed awake to talk with the woman, until you both had talked about everything you could think of. You learned that her wife loved gardening and was a police investigator, while she learned that you were a librarian and Jack was a "soon-to-be surgeon". She never pushed to know where you two were headed and why, thank god. You were never great at lying anyways. 

After a while, you both fell into a comfortable silence, her eyes were on the road, and you focused on the passing scenery. The road was slightly damp from a previous rain and the pine trees donned a darker shade of green. The sky cleared enough for you to see hues of blue, orange, and hints of pink.   
After a while, you heard Jack awake with a yawn,

"So, we close to anywhere yet?" He mumbled to no one in particular as he stretched. Poor thing, his sleep schedule was bad before this whole adventure, it must have been even worse now. 

"I have good news and bad news. The good news is that there's a small place a few miles ahead of here. Bad news is that I gotta go East so I'll have to drop you two off," the woman announced. You were dissapointed that you couldn't stay with her for longer, she gave you a sense of comfort and safety. Jack didn't give something of the same sense of comfort. He could protect you, or kill you. You were scared of the power he had over you if anything.

"There it is," the old woman pointed a finger up ahead to a small diner. It was small and bordered by trees, the neon red "open" sign hurt your eyes in contrast to the dull colors of nature. There was two wooden picnic tables in the front and you noticed there was only a few cars parked outside. The truck pulled over and the woman looked at the two of you, 

"Well it was a pleasure. Glad I could meet ya. Good luck gettin to where ya want to!" She smiled as Jack climbed out and grabbed his bag. You hesitated before slowly getting back on your feet, looking up to the woman, the truck door in your hand, you gave a smile.

"Thank you so much. I wish there was a way we could repay you."  
She waved her hand dismissively before reaching into the center console and pulling out some money, handing it to you.

"I know a way you can repay me. Get yourself somethin good to eat and treat yourself to their blueberry pie," she slapped the money into your palm and ignored your shock. You nodded and shut the door, and the truck lurched before getting back on the road.

"She was something," Jack deadpanned as he turned to observe the greying diner across the street. You pocketed the money, nodded, and walked toward the establishment. You hoped that maybe, someone there would give you a ride to civilization.

The bell on the door chimed as you strode in. Many booths were empty, and the smell of ground coffee filled your nose. Jack took initiative of sitting at a booth by the large front window, so you followed. It was light enough that the waitress hadn't switched on the lights yet, but dark enough to set a relaxed, calm mood and cast long shadows. You had to say, Jack looked good in this lighting.   
A waitress in an old-fashioned pink uniform gave you menus, but both of you decided on just getting the blueberry pie. The waitress pursed her red lips and giggled, 

"You sure you don't want two forks with that? Seems like you two would want to share."   
You bounced your leg anxiously and went pink, but this time Jack didn't blush. He smirked,

"Y'know, you're right. Two spoons please. We gotta save money here." The waitress nodded giddily, scooped up your menus, and disappeared to the kitchen.   
Jack had no idea where that confidence came from, and part of him thought he scared you off by being so forward. But seeing you bite your lip and the blush on your cheeks was enough to convince him otherwise. 

You both finished the slice of pie fairly slowly, both of you a little too awkward and hesitant to eat quick. You were sure the waitress was sitting behind the counter watching you two from behind her book and over her red reading glasses. You paid with the money the old woman gave you, and the both of you left the diner to sit outside on the picnic table. The bright lights of the diner were harsh compared to the few flickering lights outside.   
Jack sat on top of the rickety wood, resting his feet on the bench. He set down his bag and patted the spot next to him softly. You shrugged and sat next to him, scooting a little closer than you thought you would.

"This guy was going to kill me, he was so close to doing it, so why the fuck am I sitting so close? Why do I blush when he does sweet things? He's a monster, (Y/n). A monster-" your thoughts were interrupted as the brunette stretched an arm around your shoulders. 

"You looked cold..." he said quietly, eyes making contact with your (e/c) ones.

Monster or not, he was breaking down your walls, and you were not liking how it felt.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is more of a filler but hey it's cute so enjoy!

Eventually, after staying at a few motels and finding more people willing to drive you, you both arrived in the next city. It had been a long time that you'd been in a place with actual skyscrapers and neon lights.  
The streets were bustling with cars that crawled through traffic, and the forest seemed to grow thinner and thinner with every mile you went deeper into the heart of the concrete jungle. Hordes of people busily hustled on rain soaked sidewalks and there seemed to be a permanent light source from the lit signs in store windows and corporate buildings.   
If anything, you were surprised at the complete blandness your life had been before.   
The city had a lasting blue tint that was caused by the sleek steel buildings, reflective glass, and the dark evening sky. The damp roads seemed like mirrors that reflected lights that were high above.  
Yet you didn't feel easy, as much as you could admit the city was beautiful. There felt like there was an overwhelming sense of anxiety and fear that gripped nearly every pedestrian you saw walking outside. Shoulders tensed, hands clutching to purses, and suspicious eyes. You brushed it off though, cities had crime and that was that.

Jack seemed to be a little less impressed by the flashiness the city offered. He continued to stare out of the rain-streaked window at passing cars, a hand supporting his cheek to lean on. He seemed less carefree than he was at the diner a few days ago and the trip here. He looked more stiff, fiddling with the sharp scalpel in his hoodie pocket. The colors of mostly blue and flourescant yellow lights danced across his cheeks and for a moment you forgot his tense stare, and looked at the way his eyes almost matched the dark blue, and not yet black, sky.   
Jack suddenly pulled away from the window and tapped on the taxi driver's plexiglass wall that separated the back and front seat. The small window was opened and Jack huffed to bring his face close enough for the driver to hear over the music,

"Can you take us to a motel please? I don't want to keep you driving all night."   
The driver nodded and asked which motel, to which both you and Jack answered at the same time, 

"It doesn't matter."

After a while, the driver wondered into a quieter part of town and pulled up to a small, three story motel. It was clearly dated compared to the modern part of the city, but it seemed like paradise in comparison to sleeping in cars for the past few days.  
Jack got the bags and paid the driver while you ventured inside to register and get keys.  
The woman behind the counter clearly was running on coffee alone, but her tired features still managed a smile while you tried to strike up conversation. She'd probably appreciate the company.

"I can't help but notice that everyone in the city looks nervous. I wonder why," you trailed off, fiddling with the hem of Jack's jacket. 

"You come from the hicks?" She chuckled jokingly before pointing to a small tv mounted on the wall, "There's been some murders here. All around town. They're pretty brutal, but the police here are good so I'm really surprised they haven't caught the person yet," she pushed a strand of bleached blonde hair behind her ear and bit her lip. Brown eyes flicker to you then to the news report on the tv.  
You didn't pay much attention as Jack came inside the lobby to urge you to the room, clearly tired. You waved to the blonde woman, and went to your room.

"Sorry I didn't want to waste money so I just got a single bed, hope you don't mind," you mumbled as you opened the door and stepped inside. What you weren't expecting was the bed to be smaller than you anticipated. Jack clearly didn't seem to mind, that cheeky bastard, and set down your things. Immediately flinging himself on the bed and sighing, he turned his face to you, face smushed against the white linen sheets,

"We can't stay in this city for long. I say we leave early tomorrow morning." He sounded muffled, but you heard it. 

"Why are you in such a rush?" You softly replied, taking off Jack's coat gently and laying it on a small chair. Jack closed his eyes gently, his messy hair splayed out, 

"I have my reasons. But don't worry about it yet. Just rest. We need it."  
You nodded to that, but even when you still didn't quite trust him as much as you wanted to, he was all you had. His judgement seemed better than yours anyway.  
There was a moment that you debated on eating a few snacks or take use of the shower, but your limp hair and oily face said otherwise.

"I'm going to shower. No funny business from you or I swear I'm gonna-" you started but we're interuppted by Jack chuckling lowly, still face down on the bed,

"You're gonna what? Punch me with those tiny hands?"   
Your face burned, but that was humor needed to lighten the situation. You shook your head, 

"Nah, I'll eat you up."  
Now it was Jack's turn to go silent. You couldn't see his blush, but you knew it was there. Giggling, you grabbed a towel and disappeared into the shower. Lately, that joke was common as you could found the slight humor in him being an actual cannibal. At this point, you weren't sure if the embarrassment from his part was the fact that he was ashamed of what he was, or he twisted it into something that sounded dirty. You were sure it was the latter.   
You turned on the hot water, stripped, and hopped in. It was refreshing enough that you got lost in the thought of actually not smelling like a dumpster. Eventually you finished washing your hair and you turned off the water, stepping out. Steam licked off your body as you wrapped yourself in a towel, the realization hitting you. You slowly opened the door a crack and called for Jack,

"I forgot to bring in clean clothes..."  
You could almost hear his smirk when he answered, 

"Then come out and get some."  
Now your cheeks were the ones burning,

"Just give me some clothes please."  
You heard the bed creak and some bags rusting until he appeared in front of the door. You reached a single arm out of the small crack of the door and clutched the clothes in his arms and hurriedly shut it, just in case he wanted to try anything funny.  
But what you didn't notice was the clothes he grabbed. It was just one of his many black hoodies that he must have taken from his cabin a while back. You honestly could punch him at this point. At least it was big enough that it went to your thighs and covered your butt. And you thanked past you for actually wearing good underwear for once. You threw on your bra, pulled on your black panties (you imagine the style I'm lazy) and put on the hoodie before running your hands through your hair to brush it. You grabbed your dirty clothes and huffed before walking out.   
You paid Jack no attention as you stuffed your clothes in a bag, mindful of bending over, and sat on the opposite side of the bed, criss cross. You even made sure to rest your hands in your lap so the sweater would cover you.  
You could tell he was still staring, and he finally spoke up,

"You took all the hot water." He mumbled and turned away.

"Maybe next time you can join me," you tried so hard not to smile at your joke, but his response was what got you a little bothered,

"Maybe next time I will."  
He got up and took off his hoodie on the way to the bathroom and you got a good look at his strong back for a hot second.   
Sleeping next to him would be difficult.

Jack got out of the shower fairly quick, and came out only in black boxer briefs (o hot dayum) with the towel around his neck. Droplets of moisture still stuck to his pale skin, and you were sure you were blushing hard. 

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," he said quietly while ruffling his hair with the towel. He threw his clothes near the bags and sat on his side of the bed.

"You stared at me too though," you mumbled before lifting up the covers and snuggling in.  
Jack didn't answer, but instead threw the towel on the floor and laid on his side on top of the covers, back to you. You turned to your other side and sighed. Soon, your tired eyes closed and sleep came.

You woke in early morning, it was still dark. You reached an arm to feel the bed and Jack was nowhere to be found. You were sure this wasn't a dream, so you sat up and rubbed your eyes. You heard the toilet flush and the sink run and were filled with relief. Out Jack came, bags under his eyes and messy bed head in all its glory. He noticed you were up, but said nothing as he grabbed a shirt and put it on before walking back to his side of the bed and laying down. You watched as he didn't turn his back to you, but stayed on his back looking at the popcorn ceiling. 

"You okay?" You asked, voice cracking slightly. He didn't even look at you when he answered softly, 

"Nightmares are a bitch."  
That's when you realized he hadn't slept at all. A pang of guilt hit your heart so you scooted closer to him and laid on your back as well,

"I'm here to talk if you need it." You thumped his chest lightly with the back of your hand. He said nothing, but slowly inched his left hand to where your right was resting on the mattress.  
Cold fingers laced themselves with your warm ones. You squeezed softly and he squeezed back, both of you looking straight into nothing.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy you guys! It's been a while. Life's been keeping me on my toes but fear not I'm hellbent on finishing this! I promise I'll crank out chapters like I used to once summer comes. Thank you all for sticking with me and enjoying this (ahemTRASHahem) story. I sometimes sort through my emails and see yall commenting and liking this, it gives me confidence to keep on writing. SO a phat thank you to everyone reading this still. Hope this chapter was worth the wait! (It's a bit of a short one but bear with me)

Laying in silence was more comforting to you than you had imagined. The sirens and bustle of the morning city gave you strange nostalgia of the small town you left. Your life was mundane, but peaceful before the shit hit the fan. You often debated whether being with Jack was smart, or the right thing, but he clearly had an affinity for you. He kept you alive, while being one of the sole factors that could quickly end it. Question was, did you enjoy him as much as he silently enjoyed you?  
The heavy hotel drapes cast a light blue shade over the stiff white sheets you laid on, and for a moment it felt unreal. You were clearly going to return home soon, open your library, and stick your nose into a book until you went home and watched the news. Over and over again. Like clockwork, it would be the same routine. Yet the bigger hand squeezing yours yanked you back to reality. Jack had finally fallen asleep, his even breathing was evident. You didn't dare move in fear of waking him and opted instead to lull yourself back to sleep. The days of travel and exaustion catching up to you.

Waking to the muddled sounds of the city night was foreign. Sirens driving fast to where they needed to be, loud music being played by clubs, and the unmistakeable chatter of crickets being drowned out by tires on pavement. The room was dark now, just enough to make it difficult to make out details but light enough to see figures that weren't there. The huddled figure sitting next to you was completely still, and it looked to be watching you. You sighed and willed yourself to sit up and pat the figure's shoulder, Jack gave a small sigh as if he was waking up himself. 

 

"Watching me sleep now huh?" You snarkily cut the silence as you stood and stretched.

 

"Old habits die hard," Jack almost whispered, his voice sounded a little deeper and if you dare say it, ragged. You threw on pants, not caring if he just got a great view of your ass, and combed through your messy bedhead with your fingers.

 

"You wanted to leave today right? I'm sorry I let you sleep for a little longer."

He let out a tiny grunt of what you assumed was agreement before slowly getting off the bed, stretching his limbs. He was clearly in that position for a while. As he dressed himself, he made sure to keep his back to you. 

 

"We stayed too long. He knows we're here."  
Your head snapped to stare daggers at his back, clearly confused. 

"Who...?"  
Jack shook his head, brown hair a mess and sticking up in odd places,

"You shouldn't have let me sleep in."

Confusion was evident, it permeated the room around you like a thick fog. A loud scraping noice down the hall cut through the air like a hot knife. Jack's head stiffly turned to the source and then you saw his face. He wasn't in human form, and his eyesockets dripped that black substance you remember burned your skin. He looked oddly scared, panic was evident in his features. He hurriedly threw on his backpack and grabbed you by the wrist tightly before dragging you into the bathroom, hurling open the window, and jumping out. Motioning for you to jump as well, while pulling his hoodie over his mess of brown hair. You were shaken to put it lightly, but you trusted Jack more. You jumped, ankles feeling the weight of the fall but not buckling. Jack then grabbed and lead you again down multiple alleys and down back streets in hopes of losing whatever it was you were trying to lose. You heard no footsteps except yours and Jack's, but the sheer panic was still there. Jack was still running fast, he obviously knew something you didn't. The night air was damp with droplets of a previous rain, fog thick and heavy. The pavement was slick and your boots slid slightly when your feet made contact with the ground. Jack didn't wheeze, he didn't breathe heavily like you, the air puffing around you in a light cloud when your hot breath hit mingled with the cold air.  
Weaving through multiple streets gave way to you tiring out quick, but Jack didn't give way to you giving up. He basically dragged you across town, but the scraping noise picked up again. Jack was visibly disturbed, almost desperate tugging at your arm caused it to become sore, feeling like it was being pulled out of the socket. You finally wheezed out a weak.

"Why are we running?"  
Jack slowly stopped running and looked over your shoulder, worry clearly fixated on his features,

 

"An old friend of mine. He's in town. He knows I have you." Jack hissed out the word "friend", shoulders tensing.

"Jeff will stop at nothing to have you."


End file.
